Winds averaging 60 to 70km/h with peak gusts in excess of 90km/h are expected to develop along the coastal fringe and higher parts of the ranges in the far south from late Monday, then extend north.

The wild winds are expected to reach the Sydney metropolitan area on Tuesday morning.

Wind gusts across the alpine peaks may reach 125km/h late on Monday and early on Tuesday, the bureau said. Those gale force winds, combined with snowfall, might lead to blizzard conditions in the alpine areas.

The bureau is also predicting heavy surf, with waves in excess of five metres in the surf zone, which may lead to localised damage and coastal erosion.

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Beachgoers are warned to stay out of the surf and away from surf-exposed areas, especially on south-facing beaches.

Rosemary Barr, a meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology, said the "vigorous and dynamic cold front" will bring "wet, windy and cold conditions". The rain will be welcome in some areas, she said, but it will make for an "unpleasant" Tuesday morning commute.

"We'll see those severe winds start to pick up over the south coast later during Monday and during Monday night, and shift towards the north during Tuesday morning," she said.

"By around 8 to 10am on Tuesday, we'll start to see really increased wind speeds along particularly the coastal fringe of parts of the Central Coast, including the Sydney area."

The State Emergency Service has advised people in the area of the warning to move vehicles under cover or away from trees, and secure any loose items on balconies or in gardens.

Weatherzone meteorologist Tom Hough said Sydney was in for a "fairly miserable" couple of days despite temperatures around average, thanks to the wind and rain forecast – mostly for Tuesday.

"Tuesday has the potential to be fairly miserable for anyone in the city; it's going to be a pretty wet and very windy day," he said.

But, as the state enters its first week of water restrictions, rainfall is likely to remain "mainly coastal", with less than five millimetres expected west of the ranges on Tuesday, Mr Hough said.

Mild winter ahead after one of NSW's warmest autumns

Despite the blasts of cold weather parts of NSW have received in the last couple of weeks, NSW has recorded a "very warm" autumn – and the winter ahead is expected to be milder than normal.

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The Bureau of Meteorology posted its seasonal climate summary on Monday, finding that autumn 2019 was the fourth-warmest on record, following the state's hottest summer.

The state's mean temperature in autumn this year was 1.59 degrees above the long-term average, the bureau found.

While some parts of the state had their warmest autumn on record, records were also set in terms of cold with multiple areas waking to the coldest autumn temperature on record on May 31.

Despite the cold ending to autumn, NSW "experienced a very hot January to May period", with the warmest mean and minimum temperatures on record, while maximum temperatures were the second-warmest on record.

The report also found mixed results for rainfall, which was 32 per cent below average overall – while a "vigorous" cold front at the end of March led some sites to receive their highest autumn daily rainfall, and another wet day on April 22 was the wettest April day on record for parts of the state's west.

with Sarah Muller

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