Flood warning for NSW, rain falls in Qld

A severe weather warning has been issued for flash flooding in parts of NSW.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) on Friday afternoon issued the warning for people in
upper western, central west slopes and plains, and central tablelands.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms affected most of those districts on Christmas Day,
while dry areas of Queensland also received useful rain.
Emergency services personnel from Sydney, which also experienced rain, left for
Dubbo on Friday to offer support ahead of the forecast heavy rains.
Bureau forecaster Jake Phillips told AAP the areas expected to receive heavy rain
included Bourke, Nyngan and Dubbo and stretch as far east as Orange.
The rains come as the result of a low-pressure system following Tropical Cyclone
Laurence which has plagued northern parts of Western Australia in recent weeks.
In Queensland, showers tending to rain will develop in coastal areas south of Mackay
on Saturday and should persist into Sunday, according to BOM senior forecaster Geoff
Doueal said.
"The areas of rain in central Queensland will persist over the weekend, although it
will be mostly fine in the channel country," Mr Doueal said.
Central Queensland will experience moderate to heavy falls, with lower rainfall
likely on the Central Highlands and Darling Downs.
Tambo in central western Queensland received 37mm in the 24 hours to 9am (AEST),
while Roma in the southwest received 20mm.
"All those falls through the centre will build, and likely by the time we add it all
up in a week's time there's going to be quite significant rainfalls all through
Queensland," Mr Doueal said.
Further heavy rain is forecast across parts of NSW over the next few days, with the
trough persisting across the state.