'Cars swimming in Bondi' as Sydney cops peak-hour drenching

Sydney and Melbourne have copped a drenching as significant rainfall soaks Australia’s east coast for the second successive day.

More than 30mm of rain fell in Sydney from 9am to 6pm on Thursday following substantial falls on Wednesday morning.

Melbourne had received 55mm of rain by 9am on Thursday morning creating chaos for morning commuters.

There was flash flooding around Sydney, including Bondi Junction – in the city’s east – where cars were almost completely submerged under water.

Public transport commuters also reported parts of the CBD’s Central train station flooded causing chaos for the evening’s peak hour.

Sydney Trains said some Opal card readers may have been unavailable “due to wet weather conditions causing flooding at the 'Chalmers Street' (South Concourse) entrance of Central Station”.

The rain has also soaked the SCG, which threatened the cancellation of the T20 Women’s Cup final.

Mudgee in the NSW Central West also received 51mm on rainfall since 9am on Wednesday.

Melbourne soaked in a month’s worth of rain

Melbourne’s 54.6mm of rain up to 9am on Thursday was above the city's usual total for the entire month and the highest rainfall in March since 1929.

The wild weather brought down trees and caused damage to homes and flash flooding.

It prompted more than 300 calls for help across Victoria to the State Emergency Service.

State Response Controller Alistair Drayton said most callouts were for building damage, but expressed concern about the number of vehicle water rescues.

Mr Drayton said it only took 10mm to 15mm of water for smaller cars to float and people who drove in those conditions were making poor decisions.

The rain is forecast to ease in Melbourne on Thursday afternoon, but the state's east will continue to receive heavy rain and possible thunderstorms.

A severe weather warning is in place for northeast Victoria.

Outback town receives record drenching

Meanwhile, a Queensland outback town recorded its wettest day in 20 years.

The small town of Thargomindah, about 1000km west of Brisbane, recorded 128mm of rain at the airport on Wednesday, surpassing the 118mm recorded on February 22, 2000.

The day's rain almost matched total rainfall recorded for the past two years. The Bureau of Meteorology records for Thargomindah Airport officially started in 1999.

Other southwest towns also benefited from the downpour, with Birdsville recording 125mm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Meteorologist Shane Kennedy said the weather system producing the rain was now moving east across the southern parts of the state.

"The focus of rainfall has now shifted away from the southwest of Queensland, it is now over the southern interior," he said.

Rain is forecast for southeast regions of Queensland on Friday.

Western NSW also got a good soaking in some areas. Mudgee in the NSW Central West received 51mm since 9am on Wednesday. Dubbo had 58mm since 9am Wednesday.

with AAP

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