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

Lightweight, but also strong and easy to work with, timber enables faster construction times.

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

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

Sydney is in for another wet and windy day on Friday as the clean-up continues after destructive storms tore through the city, felling large trees and powerlines, crushing cars and cutting power to thousands of homes on Thursday afternoon.

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. 

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.

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

Forecasters predict heavy rain, strong winds and increasing swells.

If you woke to the sound of thunder early this morning be prepared for it to continue throughout the day.

What weather will Santa deliver for Christmas Day?

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.

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

Antonio Guterres says the “naive optimism” of the Glasgow talks is colliding with a failure to deal with climate, as scientists grapple with global heat waves.

South-east Queensland is mopping up after being battered by a line of intense thunderstorms that cut power to more than 27,000 homes and businesses.