Forecasters have warned of possible renewed flooding of rivers in central inland NSW and issued a warning for sheep graziers that new lambs are at risk of freezing this weekend.
A flood watch is in place for multiple catchments including the Namoi, Macquarie, Bogan, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Murray, Mirrool Creek, Culgoa, Narran and Darling areas on Friday.
Forecasters believe there is a particular risk of major flooding of the Macquarie River at Warren, northwest of Dubbo, Jordan Otara from the Bureau of Meteorology told AAP on Friday.
Mr Otara said while showers across central NSW had not been torrential, recent heavy falls in some catchments, coupled with dam releases, had led to river heights staying high.
“As much as the flood peaks have necessarily gone through the river system in many areas, it’s the renewed flooding – so floodwaters are not necessarily going down below the minor flood level,” the senior meteorologist said.
“Basically we’re seeing those peaks essentially being long lived due to dam releases and other factors that come into play for how the river levels are reacting.
“It’s slow moving (rainfall), associated with water already on the ground, so more of a sustained flooding event.”
The Namoi and the northern end of the Gwydir River were also expected to receive substantial falls and moderate flooding was expected on Friday, Mr Otara said.
The Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers also had the potential to flood, but Mr Otara said the risk had lessened as rainfall totals did not reach forecast highs on Thursday.
A warning has also been issued to sheep graziers to look out for baby lambs, as a mixture of plunging temperatures, showers and westerly winds are expected on Saturday in the Tablelands and Snowy Mountains districts.
“When new lambs are born, and they are exposed to those conditions, there is a heightened risk that (they) cannot live through these sort of temperatures due to the wind-chill factor,” Mr Otara said.
The weather bureau was continuing to monitor the lamb risk, which was currently confined to southern NSW.
The bureau routinely issues warnings related to lambs across late winter and spring.
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