An East Coast Low is driving rain onto the New South Wales coast after severe storms lashed the state on Monday. NSW experienced a wild weather day on Monday, with a tornado in Dubbo and severe thunderstorms littered across the state, producing heavy rain and hail. The severe weather was due to a complex low pressure trough moving east through the state. In Sydney a thunderstorm became severe as it moved east through the Basin, dropping large hail and very heavy rainfall. The city recorded a staggering 22mm in 10 minutes. Typically rain rates in excess of 5mm in 10 minutes are enough to cause minor flash flooding. Overnight, an East Coast Low developed within the trough, driving heavy rain onto the coastline. The hardest hit regions have been in the Illawarra and northern parts of the South Coast. By 9am this morning Bellambi Point had received 192mm, its heaviest daily total since 1998. Further south, Albion Park gained 159mm and Ulladulla 170mm, their biggest fall in four and three years respectively. Jerrara Dam, near Kiama, was spilling over early this morning and was expected to fail. The nearest weather station at Kiama had received 170mm by 9am and a further 22mm by midday. The low has slowly been moving south today, but was nearly stationary at lunchtime. This afternoon and evening the low will start to slowly drift away from the coastline and weaken, allowing wind and rain to ease overnight. This means that the rest of today rain should remain fairly heavy and consistent, before becoming light tomorrow. The Illawarra and South Coast should expect around 20-30mm across coastal areas tomorrow, mainly in the morning. Sydney has escaped the worst of the east coast low, with the northern edge of the rainband only reaching into far southern Sydney early this morning. This afternoon and into tomorrow there should be a few showers in the Sydney area, with the strongest winds likely this evening.