Gale force winds hit some areas of the South Coast today because of the interaction of two weather systems near the coastline which brought heavy rains and wild surf conditions.
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The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) predicted the South Coast would receive between 100 to 150mm of rain Tuesday. However, fortunately those levels of rain did not occur in the northern end of the region.
In the eight hours until 5 pm Tuesday, Kiama received 34 mm of rain and Nowra received 25 mm.
Winds about Kiama travelled in a North North Easterly direction reaching as high as 70 km per hour.
As of 5pm Tuesday the Shoalhaven river was below flood level at 1.89 m.
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The BoM has a flood watch in place for minor flooding for the Shoalhaven River.
Shoalhaven council are using machinery to reduce the berm height near Shoalhaven Heads to allow the entrance to open naturally, should the floodwater coming down the Shoalhaven River continue to rise throughout this afternoon and into the evening.
The height is still below the trigger level of 2.0 m AHD which would require an intervention by Shoalhaven City Council.
The water level in the Shoalhaven River is currently increasing and peak flows may coincide with the next high tide at 5.48 pm today or on Wednesday at 5.40 am.
The low pressure trough and rain has continued to recede to the southeast and a drier air mass has followed in its wake. The BoM forecasted an easing of rain rates, winds and surf conditions as of Tuesday evening.
But, a warning is still in place for heavy rain leading to flash flooding in some areas of the South Coast and powerful surf conditions on Tuesday evening are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing.
A gale force wind warning is still in effect in the Illawarra and will remain that way overnight due to the low pressure system.
On Wednesday, Kiama and Nowra are forecast to reach a max of 27 with winds reaching 35 to 50 km/h in the morning.