Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
New South Wales
TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST
Severe Weather Warning
for Damaging Winds
for South Coast, Snowy Mountains, Australian Capital Territory and parts of Metropolitan, Illawarra, Southern Tablelands and South West Slopes Forecast Districts.
Issued at 11:06 pm Thursday, 26 March 2026.
Damaging winds and possible blizzard conditions developing over southeastern NSW including the ACT on Friday.
Weather Situation
A vigorous coastal low will develop offshore of the southern NSW coast on Friday, bringing damaging southerly winds to parts of southeastern NSW including the ACT and the Sydney coast. Possible blizzard conditions are possible in alpine areas above 1500 metres. Conditions will begin to ease later on Friday and into early Saturday as the low moves further offshore.
DAMAGING WINDS for the following areas:
Metropolitan, Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains and Australian Capital Territory
DAMAGING SOUTHERLY WIND GUSTS with peak gusts of around 100 km/h are likely to develop over parts of the Snowy Mountains and South Coast from Friday morning, before spreading northwards into the remainder of the warning area on Friday afternoon. Wind gusts along the coastal fringe of the South Coast and Illawarra may reach 110 km/h during Friday afternoon.
DAMAGING WINDS averaging 80 to 90 km/h are possible over the alpine areas above 1900 m on Friday morning and afternoon.
BLIZZARD conditions are forecast over alpine areas above 1500 metres during Friday morning and early afternoon.
Conditions are expected to ease below warning thresholds throughout by late Friday evening or early Saturday morning.
A separate Coastal Hazard Warning for DAMAGING SURF is current. See https://www.bom.gov.au/weather-and-climate/warnings-and-alerts for details.
Locations which may be affected include parts of the Sydney coast, Wollongong, Nowra, Batemans Bay, Eden, Cooma and Bega.
The State Emergency Service advises that people should:
* Park your car under secure cover and away from trees, powerlines and drains.
* Secure or put away loose items around your house, yard and balcony.
* Keep at least 8 metres away from fallen power lines or objects that may be energised, such as fences.
* Report fallen power lines to either Ausgrid (131 388), Endeavour Energy (131 003), Essential Energy (132 080) or Evoenergy (131 093) as shown on your power bill.
For emergency help in flood and storms, ring the SES on 132 500.
Stay updated on the Hazards Near Me NSW app or the ACT ESA website (https://esa.act.gov.au).
The next Severe Weather Warning will be issued by 5:00 am AEDT Friday.
Check https://www.bom.gov.au/weather-and-climate/warnings-and-alerts. Warnings are also available through TV and Radio broadcasts or call 1300 659 210. The Bureau and State Emergency Service would appreciate warnings being broadcast regularly.
Forecast
Austral (33.9331°S, 150.812°E, 61m AMSL) set as my default location ›
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7 day forecast
Today: Cloudy. Very high chance of showers. The chance of a thunderstorm in the morning and afternoon. Damaging winds possible. Winds W/SW 30 to 45 km/h.
Forecast for Austral (33.9331°S, 150.812°E, 61m AMSL) Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Summary
Minimum 12° 12° 10° 11° 12° 13° 15° Maximum 18° 24° 25° 26° 27° 30° 31° Chance of rain 50% 5% 5% 5% 20% 5% 30% Likely amount 1-5mm < 1mm < 1mm < 1mm < 1mm < 1mm < 1mm UV index High High High Very High High Very High Very High Fire Danger Rating Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate - - - Frost risk Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 9am 3pm 9am 3pm 9am 3pm 9am 3pm 9am 3pm 9am 3pm 9am 3pm Wind speed 15
(km/h)31
(km/h)16
(km/h)13
(km/h)7
(km/h)7
(km/h)4
(km/h)9
(km/h)3
(km/h)11
(km/h)2
(km/h)10
(km/h)2
(km/h)10
(km/h)Wind direction W WSW SW SSW SW ESE WSW E W ENE WNW ENE NW ENE Relative humidity 74% 63% 63% 39% 77% 46% 89% 53% 90% 52% 94% 48% 92% 48% Dew point 9°C 9°C 8°C 8°C 11°C 12°C 14°C 15°C 15°C 15°C 16°C 16°C 18°C 17°C -
Sunrise and sunset times
Sunrise / Sunset for Austral (33.9331°S, 150.812°E, 61m AMSL) First light Sunrise Sunset Last light Moon rise Moon set Moon phase First quarter Full moon Last quarter New moon 6:40am EDT 7:05am EDT 7:00pm EDT 7:25pm EDT 3:40pm EDT 12:32am EDT
Waxing gibbous
First quarter Mar 26 Full moon Apr 02 Last quarter Apr 10 New moon Apr 17 -
Warnings
- Severe Weather Warning (Damaging Winds) South Coast, Snowy Mountains, ACT &, Illawarra, Southern Tablelands & South West Slopes
- Severe Weather Warning (Damaging Winds) South Coast, Snowy Mountains, ACT &, Illawarra, Southern Tablelands & South West Slopes
- DAMAGING Surf for Sydney Metropolitan, Hunter, Illawarra & Mid North and South coasts
- DAMAGING Surf for Sydney Metropolitan, Hunter, Illawarra & Mid North and South coasts
- Cancelled Severe Thunderstorm Warning Hunter, Metropolitan, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, North West Slopes & Plains & CW Slopes & Plains
- Cancelled Severe Thunderstorm Warning Hunter, Metropolitan, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, North West Slopes & Plains & CW Slopes & Plains
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Temperature for next 7 days
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Rain for next 7 days