An intense low pressure system south of Western Australia is producing heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds over western parts of the state, with even worse conditions to come. There have already been widespread falls of 10-20mm over the state's southwest, however an associated trough has also brought handy falls of similar amounts in the Gascoyne. To 9am today, Dwellingup picked up 33mm, its heaviest July rain in three years, while Tamala Park recorded 27mm, its wettest July day in five years. Perth city collected 10mm, although further east at Bickley received 33mm. Winds have already been strong across the region, reaching close to 100km/h at Cape Leeuwin. In the Perth area, winds have gusted as strong as 89km/h at Ocean Reef and 96km/h at Rottnest Island. Conditions are set to become worse during today and through much of Saturday as the low gets closer. Winds will be one of the most noticeable features, with widespread wind gusts of 60-90km/h across western parts of WA today, while places from Perth and south may see up to 110km/h, particularly in showers and thunderstorms. There will be two peaks of wind, one this afternoon and early evening, and another from tomorrow morning when winds may even be 10-20km/h stronger than today. With the wind will come rewards though, with further widespread falls of 10-20mm and isolated totals of up to 40-50mm across the southwest, with some inland parts of the Gascoyne and Goldfields possibly picking up 5-10mm. This is great news for the region which is currently experiencing among the driest winters on record. Winds will ease from Sunday, however showers are likely to linger in the southwest through much of next week as persistent cold fronts clip the the region, a typical pattern for winter.