A trough and possible cut-off low will bring welcome rain for much of eastern NSW next week.

Most of NSW will enjoy a sunny weekend, however those sunny skies will start turning cloudy from late Sunday with rain and showers shortly following for most of eastern NSW, including parts of the ranges and some western slopes.

A low pressure trough will form over the northeast and stretch south along the coast over the coming days, starting the process of cloud formation and precipitation. Showers will affect eastern parts of the state on Monday and Tuesday, but should be fairly scattered. Some coastal parts could see 10-20mm over those days, however the heaviest falls are likely to be out to sea.

Wednesday is looking drier, but a possible cut-off low crossing eastern NSW on Thursday should ramp up the rainfall. Current model consensus suggests the heaviest rain will be between the South Coast and Mid North Coast, and west to the ranges, however the positioning and strength of dynamic systems like this can be hard to forecast. However, rain is looking likely, and some areas in sight of the low may see their best rain this year. Isolated thunderstorms are usually produced by these types of systems, and could also provide heavy rain briefly.

The low looks to move out to sea by next weekend, with drier conditions taking over before a cold front crosses the south on Monday.

– By Craig McIntosh, Weatherzone.com.au