Residents in north-eastern NSW advised not to travel as heavy rains from another east coast low lift flood risks all the way down to the Hunter.

Canberrans will face one of the worst fire danger days of the bushfire season on Tuesday as the temperature soars past 30 degrees amid dry, windy conditions.

Parts of Canberra have received more than the city's June average rainfall in less than two days with more rain on the way.

A "strangely warm southerly" is sweeping across Sydney today with little relief from the heat at beaches in NSW and Queensland because of Cyclone Winston causing large, dangerous and powerful surf.

The impacts of the monster El Nino in the Pacific are likely to intensify across much of Australia, including worsening drought and an elevated bushfire threat, after conditions that were nullifying its effects suddenly retreated.

Broken Hill's water reserves are down to about 4 per cent amid forecasts the town will be without water by the end of the year.

Destruction of more than 200,000 hectares of threatened species habitat has been approved by the federal government in the past decade, a report shows.

The state's second east coast low in as many weeks is likely to bring further heavy rains to north-eastern NSW but largely skirt flood-hit areas around Sydney and the Hunter Valley, meteorologists say.

Winter's grip will finally feel like it's loosened amid a "heat spike" this weekend - even if that season's squeeze was not a very tight one.

Hundreds of homes have been evacuated in southern California as heavy rains and wind lash the drought-stricken area.

Fires breached containment lines in two NSW locations on Sunday morning as temperatures climbed above 35 degrees in parts of the state and Sydney.

It's Big Wednesday in Sydney, where large and powerful waves are pounding the coastline and giving surfers a reason to grin.

A car reportedly crashed into a fallen tree on Streeton Drive. 

Santa looks set to bring Melburnians a mild and mostly sunny Christmas Day.

"Mate, I lost about 100 heartbeats I reckon in that split second, and got a few more grey hairs."

Slow-moving Typhoon Hagupit has weakened as it churns across the central Philippines islands, easing fears of widespread mass destruction, but officials warn the storm could still bring severe flooding to the low-lying capital Manila.

NSW will likely cop its third buffeting from an east coast low in five weeks but there is some good news.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of possible flash flooding in the Queanbeyan and Molonglo rivers on Friday.

While the dry,calm, and mostly sunny days are making it seem that summer will never end, its demise is in sight.

Canberra hasn't seen any heatwaves this summer, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been a hot one.

Sydney's run of unusually cold mornings will extend well into next week as mostly clear skies combine with light winds and a frigid air mass to sink the mercury.

Brisbane is in for a wet start to the week, with storms likely to hit the city on Monday and rain predicted for the following four days.

Australia's main ski resorts are anxious for a change in the weather, with a lack of recent snow falls limiting their operations just as school holidays loom in NSW and Victoria.

A Kiama drone operator has told of his urgent efforts to raise the alarm after a shark made an unexpected appearance in his video, coming disturbingly close to unaware surfers.

Wednesday night may be on the cool side for Queensland visitors to the opening State of Origin match at Homebush but the overall conditions could hardly be better for football.