People have been told to avoid the surf in Sydney and other coastal parts of NSW as a south-moving ex-tropical cyclone Uesi brings a weekend of storms and dangerous swells.

Rain is expected to hit Sydney and parts of the east coast on Saturday afternoon as Uesi moves south though the Tasman Sea.

Thunderstorm activity will strike the bushfire-ravaged South Coast, the Southern Tablelands and western Sydney.
Flood warnings also remain in place after the weekend’s wet weather deluge, particularly through the NSW Mid North Coast.

Flash flooding may also occur in the Tweed, Richmond, Wilson, Clarence, Bellinger, Macleay, Upper Nepean, Wyong, Tuggerah, Orara, Gwydir, Castlereagh, Paroo, Nambucca and Weir rivers.
Ausgrid repair crews will continue working across the weekend to restore power to around 9700 customers still affected by last weekend’s storm damage.

More than 130,000 homes and business have been reconnected, with all works expected to be completed by Sunday.
A hazardous surf warning is in place for the Hunter, Sydney, Illawarra, Batemans Bay and Eden on Saturday.

Surf Life Saving NSW warned rock fishers, boaters, surfers and swimmers to stay away from the water.

“If people don’t heed emergency service warnings and put themselves in danger in these extreme conditions, it’s possible that lifesavers will not be able to save them,” lifesaving director Joel Wiseman said in a statement on Friday.

Some beaches may be closed on the weekend due to the large swell, poor water quality and large amounts of debris in the water caused by wind gust from ex-cyclone Uesi.