A total fire ban has been cancelled after stormy weather brought rain to much of the Territory on Tuesday morning.

Sydneysiders are again being hammered by thunderstorms as the latest storm cells bring rain and strong wind gusts to the city.

A severe weather warning with winds averaging 60 to 70km/h has been issued for the Snowy Mountains and surrounding areas.

More thunderstorms expected in the territory this week before a drenching of up 100 millimetres of rain.

Storms hit the Sydney region, bringing hail and damaging winds.

Lunchtime barbecues and beach plans on Christmas Day are looking good to go ahead, with sunshine and warm temperatures expected to hold out until the late afternoon. 

This weekend is set to be another warm, muggy one - and next weekend may be much the same.

Robert Frost once pondered whether the world would end in fire, or in ice. They weren't heralding the world's end, but this week fire and ice both reared their heads across the state.

After a year of driving global temperatures to unprecedented warmth, the giant El Nino weather event in the Pacific is officially over, raising hopes that drought-hit regions may be in for some relief in Australia and elsewhere.

The pandemic delayed the global climate summit until November this year - one of the most fortuitous postponements in history.