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Winter ‘strikes’ again with thunderstorms forecast for areas of NSW on Sunday

It’s been a busy start to the winter season for southern Australia with record breaking cold for parts of the southeast, dramatic thunderstorms in southwest WA and an East Coast Low which impacted the central and southern areas of NSW (and eastern Vic) last week, to name but a few. 

The weather has taken a decidedly more settled note in the last couple of days; however, it is set to ramp up a little into the second part of the weekend.  

An approaching surface low, supported in the upper levels by a cut-off low or pool of cold air will help provide the ingredients for thunderstorms across NSW on Sunday. This will provide the necessary upper support in the atmosphere to allow mild air at the surface to rise and become unstable. Once these parcels of air rise into the upper atmosphere they cool and condense to form clouds. The unstable air continues to rise higher into the atmosphere and eventually, cumulonimbus clouds form. There are the characteristic ‘towering’ clouds that can bring lightning, heavy precipitation and strong winds. Although thunderstorms are more common in the summer months due to the additional energy provided by the sun, they are not completely unusual in the Australian winter. However, this particular weather set up is more akin to spring than winter. 

ECMWF accumulated precipitation for Sunday 6th July

The thunderstorms are expected to be isolated at first across parts of central/east NSW but become scattered in places during the afternoon and evening as they spread erratically eastwards. A lot of places will miss out on the action, however, if you do manage to cop one it could pack a punch with the potential for heavy downpours, hail and strong wind gusts (locally damaging up to 90km/h). 

The best chance of seeing a thunderstorm is for parts of the Central and northern Tablelands, the Hunter as well as the central coast (including Sydney and Newcastle) and Central Western Slopes and Plains. Keep an eye on the radar if you have outdoor plans in these regions. 

The weather across NSW will return to a more settled note early next week with the action reserved for southern and central parts of both SA and Vic with a deep low over the Southern Ocean bringing stormy conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

To stay up to date with all the latest forecasts check https://www.weatherzone.com.au