Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea off the NSW north coast has had a lucky escape after ex-cyclone Uesi roared through overnight, bringing strong wind gusts of up to 130km per hour.
The World Heritage Listed island, home to almost 350 people, was in the path of Uesi which is making its way south and is due to pass over waters off Sydney later on Friday and early Saturday morning.
Wind gusts of up to 130km/hr were recorded overnight on Thursday but so far there doesn't appear to have been any major damage.
But Uesi continues to stir up wild weather including hazardous surf and swell conditions off the NSW coast, particularly around Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and the Hunter coast.
Flood warnings remain in place for rivers on the NSW coast as a low pressure trough moves further south in the wake of Uesi.
The affected areas include the Tweed, Wilsons, Brunswick, Marshalls, Wooli, Bellinger, Upper Nepean, Tuggerah Lake, Orara River, Weir River and Paroo River.
Weekend of rain forecast for Sydney
Sydney is facing more wet weather over the weekend after last week's deluge, with rain showers and thunderstorms expected on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, particularly over western Sydney.
Rain is also forecast for much of the NSW coast on Friday with major falls expected in Sydney, the Northern Tablelands, Mid-North Coast, Hunter and South Coast.
High rainfall in the past week - the worst in about 20 years - has caused havoc with flash flooding and storm damage to the Greater Sydney and coastal regions.
Thousands of Sydney siders are still suffering from power blackouts sparked by last weekend's torrential rains.
Some 15,000 homes and businesses are without power across Sydney and the Central Coast, including three schools in Arcadia, Peakhurst and Somersby and power providers have warned repair works aren't likely to be completed until the end of Sunday.
"In the hardest-hit areas, the network is being rebuilt from the ground up on a street-by-street basis," Ausgrid said.
But the rain has also brought much-needed relief for firefighters and the NSW Rural Fire Service on Thursday was finally able to say there were no uncontained fires for the first time this season.
"All fires are contained so we can really focus on helping people rebuild," NSW RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said in a video posted on Twitter.
There are currently 24 fires burning in NSW, all south of Sydney.
