Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology New South Wales TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST Severe Weather Warning for Damaging Winds for South Coast, Snowy Mountains, Australian Capital Territory and parts of Metropolitan, Illawarra, Southern Tablelands and South West Slopes Forecast Districts. Issued at 5:31 pm Thursday, 26 March 2026. Damaging winds developing over southeastern NSW including the ACT on Friday. Weather Situation A vigorous coastal low will develop offshore of the southern NSW coast on Friday, bringing damaging southerly winds to parts of southeastern NSW including the ACT and the Sydney coast. Conditions will begin to ease later on Friday and into early Saturday as the low moves further offshore. DAMAGING WINDS for the following areas: Metropolitan, Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains and Australian Capital Territory DAMAGING SOUTHERLY WIND GUSTS with peak gusts of around 100 km/h are likely to develop over parts of the Snowy Mountains and South Coast from Friday morning, before spreading northwards into the remainder of the warning area on Friday afternoon. Wind gusts along the coastal fringe of the South Coast and Illawarra may reach 110 km/h during Friday afternoon. DAMAGING WINDS averaging 80 to 90 km/h are possible over the alpine areas above 1900 m on Friday morning and afternoon. Conditions are expected to ease below warning thresholds throughout by late Friday evening or early Saturday morning. A separate Coastal Hazard Warning for DAMAGING SURF is current. See https://www.bom.gov.au/weather-and-climate/warnings-and-alerts for details. Locations which may be affected include parts of the Sydney coast, Wollongong, Nowra, Batemans Bay, Eden, Cooma and Bega. The State Emergency Service advises that people should: * Park your car under secure cover and away from trees, powerlines and drains. * Secure or put away loose items around your house, yard and balcony. * Keep at least 8 metres away from fallen power lines or objects that may be energised, such as fences. * Report fallen power lines to either Ausgrid (131 388), Endeavour Energy (131 003), Essential Energy (132 080) or Evoenergy (131 093) as shown on your power bill. For emergency help in flood and storms, ring the SES on 132 500. Stay updated on the Hazards Near Me NSW app or the ACT ESA website (https://esa.act.gov.au). The next Severe Weather Warning will be issued by 11:00 pm AEDT Thursday. Check https://www.bom.gov.au/weather-and-climate/warnings-and-alerts. Warnings are also available through TV and Radio broadcasts or call 1300 659 210. The Bureau and State Emergency Service would appreciate warnings being broadcast regularly.