If it's Easter sunshine you want, head south - Sydney Morning Herald

Sydney's mild March weather is likely to extend into the Easter weekend, although showers may ruin the recent run of fine days.

Conditions look set to favour those staying put or heading south for the break, with a wet Easter Sunday forecast for the Hunter Valley and regions further north.

While showers may reach Sydney on Thursday and Good Friday morning, the city should otherwise remain dry until Easter Saturday evening. A wetter spell, though, may arrive on Easter Sunday, Weatherzone meteorologist Rob Sharpe said.

"Most people will experience a dry day on Friday, particularly if they get up late," Mr Sharpe said. “I'd suggest going south to enjoy most of the sunny weather.”

Conditions would likely be fairly dry all the way down to the Victorian border, he said.

Weather models offer differing views on the effect the rain band will have on Sydney, with the potential for a low pressure system forming early next week.

“Brisbane down to the Hunter could feel the impact of an east-coast low,” he said.

Before the weekend, temperatures should warm to 29 and 30 on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, before settling back to maximums of about 24 to 26 from Friday to Monday.

Drier than Perth

Sydney has so far had 63 millimetres of rain for March, about half the average for the month and less than a quarter of the 270 millimetres received a year ago.

Even Perth, which typically receives just one-seventh of Sydney's rain tally for March, is likely to register a wetter month than the Harbour City, Weatherzone said.

Rainfall in Perth is running at triple the usual amount, making it that city's wettest March in 42 years, Mr Sharpe said.

Sydney is in the middle of its warmest March week in a decade. For the month so far, maximum temperatures are running 1.7 degrees above average, with minimum temperatures 1.5 degrees above normal.

“In February and March, it's likely we'll have averaged the same temperature,” Mr Sharpe said. “It's been very consistent [in March], with very little influence from cold fronts,” he said, noting the city at one point had 11 consecutive days of 25 degrees or warmer.

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