'Stay alert': Central west dodges worst of the rain but storms on radar

Communities in Wellington, Mendooran and the Macquarie River downstream of Burrendong Dam had been warned on Tuesday, November 28 to stay alert to the potential for flooding on Wednesday, November 29.

The flood watches were cancelled on Wednesday when the area around Dubbo only received 7.4 millimetres of rain on Tuesday, compared with the Bureau of Meteorology forecast of up to 70 millimetres.

Brigid Rice, NSW State Emergency Service Western Zone commander, said the situation was "the perfect scenario".

"[The flood watch was] revoked because we didn't see the rainfalls that were possible across western NSW, which is great news for the farmers because we've got enough rain to wet the fields, but not enough to flood the rivers," Commander Rice told the Daily Liberal.

No central west rivers are forecast to rise at this stage, however SES wants the area to stay on "high alert" to storms.

"We are going to continue to see thunderstorms roll through from today [Wednesday, November 29] all the way through tomorrow and then further rainfalls all the way through to Monday. So flash flooding is always a risk," Commander Rice said.

"Motorists in particular need to keep an eye out for flash flooding. In severe thunderstorms, motorists should also avoid the roads when those severe thunderstorms are rolling through.

"And of course, we always advise everyone there will be wind gusts and potentially hail in these thunderstorms. So make sure that everything is tied down and squared away."

SES crews received 10 jobs across the entire western NSW area on Tuesday and Wednesday, which is "very low" compared to the rest of the state.

"The rest of the state has seen a very much higher tempo, especially towards the southern parts of the state," Commander Rice said.

"But we've seen very, very low [incidents] and that has predominantly been just some minor water ingress into roofs and that kind of roof work from just heavy downpours and the gutters can't cope."

Commander Rice thanked the community around Dubbo for listening to the warnings and staying alert.

"Please make sure that people do stay alert. The thunderstorms are still going to come through. They are still dangerous, but stay safe on the road," she said.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast up to 20 millimetres of rain in Dubbo on Wednesday, November 29, and has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for heavy locally-intense rainfall, damaging winds and large hailstones.

Some southern areas of the state are experiencing flooding as the rain moves south.

For more information on the Flood Watch Service: http://www.bom.gov.au/water/floods/floodWarningServices.shtml

FloodSafe advice is available at www.ses.nsw.gov.au

For emergency assistance call the SES on telephone number 132 500

For life threatening emergencies, call 000 immediately.