Drought-ravaged parts of the state welcomed rainfall on Sunday as western NSW experienced some much-needed reprieve from the dry spell.

Key points: Western NSW has experienced up to 30mm of rainfall across the weekend

Western NSW has experienced up to 30mm of rainfall across the weekend However, storm-based rainfall can be patchy, providing limited relief for drought conditions

However, storm-based rainfall can be patchy, providing limited relief for drought conditions Combining weather factors mean more dry conditions are forecast for the coming months

A slow-moving trough has made its way south from Central Queensland, combining forces with a series of cold fronts to bring rain to the country's south-east.

The Bureau of Meteorology says almost 30 millimetres has fallen at Bourke in the state's upper-west.

Residents welcomed the wet weather, which was the first rain the town has seen since July and among its highest falls all year.

Parts of Broken Hill even flooded in yesterday's drenching. ( John Dynon )

Further south, Cobar recorded its second-highest fall of 2019, with 27 millimetres so far.

Diana Eadie, a severe weather meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology predicted up to 100 millimetres in some isolated locations in the state.

But she warned for people to not get their hopes up as storm-based rainfall can be "hit and miss".

Rain is largely yet to materialise across the central west slopes and plains.

The town of Walgett, which is currently enforcing level five water restrictions, received about 2 millimetres early on Sunday morning.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 12 seconds 12 s Men play in the rain outside the pub in Bourke after months of dry weather.

It looks to be a drier summer to come, according to the BOM's latest outlook.

Most of the country is expected to have below-average rainfall from November through to January.

Complicating matters is the combining influence of a strong, positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) to the west, a negative Southern Annular Mode (SAM) in the south and a late monsoon in the north.

This means the strong rainfall required to lessen the grip of the drought is unlikely to come this summer.



Localised forecasts with the chance of different totals and timings can be found on the MetEye section of the BOM website.