Sydney should lap up Tuesday's relatively sunny weather as a deepening low-pressure system brings the prospect of a wet end to the working week.
Wednesday looks likely to be the wettest of the week, with widespread rain likely to arrive by late afternoon, Brett Dutschke, senior meteorologist at Weatherzone, said.
"There is potential for more than 60 millimetres," Mr Dutschke said. "The heaviest period is most likely [Wednesday] afternoon and evening."
The widespread falls are likely to be heavy enough to cause some localised flooding and should make the rivers and creeks around Sydney flow quickly, he said.
Along with the rain, winds should also pick up through the day on Wednesday, adding to the misery of commuters.
Meteorologists are not dubbing the system an east coast low. Even though the low is expected to move quickly away from the coast, Sydney can expect 25-70 millimetres on Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology said in its updated forecasts.
The bureau pared back its rain forecasts to 2-5 millimetres on Thursday and 3-10 millimetres on Friday before conditions improve by Saturday.
"There's not much chance to get the washing done, other than today," Mr Dutschke said.
Part of the state's north-east could collect more than 100 millimetres from the event. (See bureau chart of rainfall forecast for NSW on Wednesday.)
Temperatures will also remain on the cool side, with 18 degrees reached on Tuesday and 15 to 16 degrees for the coming three days, making it the coldest spell for the city since June, he said.
The alpine regions should miss most of the moisture from the system although lower resorts may get more rain than snow, Mr Dutschke said.
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