Sunday, July 3 at 3pm
Weather alerts continue to be issued across parts of the Central West, with sustained rainfall stretching across the state.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A first warning has been issued for the Macquarie River at Bathurst, with an alert for possible moderate flooding to occur at around 1am on Monday, July 4.
Over the past 24-hours, rainfall recorded across the upper part of the Macquarie River has caused the river levels to rise, with BOM predicting water levels to exceed 4.5 metres in the hours to 8am.
Usually, its minor flood level is around 3 metres.
While the latest river heights were recorded on the BOM website as "steady", its water levels in Bathurst at 1:26pm shows the river at 0.49 metres, then at White Rock at 1.13 metres exactly 30 minutes following.
Continuing rainfall is predicted to climb from a status of moderate to heavy over the next 48-hours, increasing the likelihood of waters rising even further.
Orange's rainfall from 9am to 3:40pm records 7 mm.
The next BOM warning will be issued by 10pm on Sunday.
Sunday, July 3 at 9am
Warning of minor flooding at Wellington was issued by the Bureau of Meteorology on Sunday morning, with the Bell River catchment recording moderate rainfall since Friday.
This has lead to the river's rise, with continued rainfall over the next 24-hour period likely to increase water levels even further.
As of 9am on Sunday, 17.6 mm of rain had been recorded at Orange airport. This is up from Saturday's 9.2 mm recorded at 3pm, July 2.
The Central West region remains on Flood Watch, with the BOM's next severe weather warning to be issued by 5pm on Sunday.
Other areas across NSW are on evacuation orders, as directed by State Emergency Services.
FloodSafe advice is available on the SES website. For SES emergency assistance, phone 132 500. For life threatening emergencies, call 000 immediately.
Sunday sports update
Molong Rugby League Football Club has postponed all games for its Sunday local derby, with pooling water on its Rec forcing the grounds to close.
"Due to the condition of the recreation ground and player safety, [Cabonne] Council has deemed the ground as unplayable," the club posted to its Facebook page.
"Although we were looking forward to hosting Condobolin and Manildra for our local derby, the safety of everyone is our number one priority."
Saturday, July 2
A flood warning has been issued for parts of the Central West as wet weather ravages NSW.
A surface trough and a developing East Coast Low is expected to bring heavy rainfall to central parts of the NSW coast from the Lower Hunter to the South Coast and parts of the Central West during the weekend and into Monday.
A message posted by the Bureau of Meteorology said: "This heavy rain may cause minor to moderate riverine flooding along parts of the Wollombi Brook, Central Coast, Greater Sydney, South Coast and Central West. Major flooding is possible in the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley from Sunday, with minor flooding expected from late Saturday.
"This weekend's rainfall is expected to cause localised flash flooding. Rainfall is expected to continue into the new week and may cause additional river rises and flooding along the NSW coast."
The weather system is expected to cause riverine flooding for the catchments listed from Saturday. Flood classes (minor, moderate, major) are only defined for catchments where the Bureau provides a flood warning service.
The Macquarie River to Bathurst catchment area was listed as a "minor flooding" risk.
As of 4pm on Saturday, 9.2mm of rain had been recorded at Orange Airport.
FloodSafe advice is available at www.ses.nsw.gov.au. For emergency assistance call the SES on telephone number 132 500. For life threatening emergencies, call 000 immediately.
Across NSW the federal government approved Australian Defence Force support, with 100 troops also available from Sunday onwards, Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said.
Two Australian Defence Force helicopters will be available to assist with rescues as areas of NSW brace for intense rainfall and possible flooding.
"I want to assure people that the federal government ... is 100 per cent prepared for what might lie ahead," Mr Watt said from Brisbane on Saturday.
"One of the things that we've learned over the last couple of years is that when we don't have a federal government that takes responsibility and isn't proactive, bad things can happen."
To read more stories, download the Central Western Daily news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
HAVE YOUR SAY
- Send a letter to the editor using the form below