The powerful cold front sweeping across the region is forecast to result in heavy rain, strong winds and potential thunderstorms - particularly around Tumut and Gundagai.

NSW SES deputy southern zone commander Barry Griffiths said specialised equipment has been brought into the region to respond to any potential flooding.

"To prepare for the event we've got two high clearance vehicles and a rotary wing rescue helicopter ... and a number of flood rescue resources," he said.

"We encourage people to plan their trips today to anticipate flooding in their normal routes home and to be prepared to take the long way home."

In other news

There has already been 11 calls for assistance made to the SES across the region today following the thunderstorm that hit the Riverina overnight.

Mr Griffiths said the two high clearance vehicles will be sent to Tumut, which has been identified as an area of concern.

"[The cold front] will likely leave about 60 millimetres of widespread rain, with up to 100 millimetres of rain falling in localised areas in the catchment," he said.

"At this stage the focus is around the Tumut and Gundagai area because predominantly that's where the rainfall is likelier to fall.

"We do have some of the other low-lying areas in and around Mirrool Creek, Stockinbingal, Cootamundra and Temora that could come into play if they receive enough rainfall."

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a flood watch for moderate to major flooding the Murrumbidgee and Tumut rivers earlier this week.

The Murrumbidgee at Wagga was sitting at 3.68 metres and rising on Thursday morning while the Tumut River was steady at 0.54 metres.

Mr Griffiths said the rain is expected to continue into the evening and emergency services are staying alert for potential flooding.

"The ground is wet at the moment and it has been wet for some period of time so it won't take much to produce some localised flash flooding," he said.

"The weather system should ease over the next couple of days but if we do receive enough rainfall, riverine flooding will be the thing that takes over from that."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: