Destination NSW's promise of a "warm country welcome" for visitors to Tibooburra has rarely rung as true, with the outback town ranked as the state's hottest place in what was the warmest year globally on record.

Sydney weather is tipped to warm for the weekend after a couple of milder days on Thursday and Friday. Peter Hannam reports.

The flow-on effects of Fiji's Tropical Cyclone Winston put a dampener on the last weekend of summer, bringing dangerous surfing conditions and closing many Sydney beaches.

Unseasonal rains across central Australia are helping to fill Lake Eyre and are providing some unusual recreational activities for residents of Alice Springs.

Thunderstorms may have drenched Sydney and other parts of the state but many parched regions of the state largely missed out.