The Bureau of Meteorology says a cold front and trough are moving across NSW and the ACT, bringing rain and some storms, after already drenching parts of Victoria.

A rain band that will stretch alone the entire NSW coast will wash away smoke haze that has lingered in parts of the state for days, before giving way to a cold front.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast consistent falls as the rain moves in from western NSW, before it develops into a low pressure system off the south coast on Wednesday.

Some thunderstorms are possible across the state, but the south coast will bear the brunt of the cold and wet.

“It’s not going to be benign,” meteorologist Helen Reid said.

“We’re expecting rainfall to really pick up there … [it] might even be around the 50 millimetre mark for quite a few locations.”

An increase in thunderstorm activity, wind and hazardous surf is also expected.

While catchments were still wet from heavy rainfall in March, flooding wasn’t a big concern, Ms Reid said.

On the plus side, the rain, which is likely to linger for a couple days, will help rid the state of smoke from hazard reduction burns.

“The areas that have been affected by smoke haze, we’re expecting the rainfall to be washing the sky and helping us have better air to breathe for the next few days,” she said.

Meanwhile, a severe weather warning was cancelled for Melbourne on Tuesday after the cold front swept to the east.

The Bureau of Meteorology had earlier forecast a wet and windy Tuesday, with gusts of up to 90km/h expected in elevated areas and heavy rainfall in some parts of the city.

By 8am on Tuesday, Aireys Inlet on the Great Ocean Road had received a record 115.8 millimetres. Laverton, in Melbourne’s west, had received 42.2 millimetres and Essendon had received 31 millimetres.

Tweet from @BOM_Vic

On Monday, BOM Victoria manager Diana Eadie raised concerns that a sweeping cold front could hit commuters with wild weather conditions on Tuesday morning.

“This is particularly of concern given that we could see this heavy rainfall occur when people are trying to get into the city or commuting on their way to work,” Ms Eadie said.

“There is the potential for flash flooding and the roads could be quite slippery.”

But by early Tuesday a road weather alert for Melbourne had been cancelled.

-with agencies