Hazardous surf warning issued for NSW Coast including Illawarra

Rainfall is expected to begin getting heavy for parts of the Illawarra and Shoalhaven on Thursday, with increasing falls on Friday and Saturday before easing on Sunday.

The weather could cause havoc for the much-anticipated L'Etape Australia cycling event on Saturday with thousands of cyclists riding around Kiama, the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven.

On Saturday alone, up to 150mm of rain is expected in parts of the Illawarra and most of the Shoalhaven, according to the BOM.

Mr Notara didn't expect the rain clouds to reprieve next week either.

"There is definitely no clear sign that we are going to return to clear dry weather any time soon," he said.

"It is really a sense of having showers about, but potentially having some days which are completely cloudy and overcast and consistent rain, and other days have one or two breaks in the cloud with a shower here or there."

Meantime, a hazardous surf warning has been issued for the NSW from the Macquarie Coast down to Eden - including the Illawarra.

People are being asked to consider staying out of the water and to avoid walking near surf-exposed areas as surf and swell conditions are expected to be hazardous for rock fishing, boating, and swimming.

Rain has set in for the week with Senior Forecaster Jordan Notara from the Bureau of Meteorolgy (BOM) expecting the peak on Saturday.

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"We have a low pressure trough that's currently in the state's west, there is also a secondary trough that is sitting along the coast and that is increasing rainfall across the state," Mr Notara said.

"What drives the increasing rainfall as we get towards Saturday is an amplification of an upper level trough, which in simple terms, is that we start to see the upper dynamics of the atmosphere increase intensity of those easterly winds, and conversion effects occurring along the coastline create a higher chance of heavier rainfall in those areas."

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