SYDNEY — Sydney has been soaked by its wettest year on record with almost three months of expected above-average rain to spare.

The city of 5 million people beat its 1950 record of 2,194 millimeters (86.4 inches) on Thursday when 27.2 mm (1.07 in) of rain had fallen at the Observatory Hill rain gauge since morning, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said.

Heavy rain is forecast to continue across Sydney and other parts of southeast Australia peaking on Saturday, according to the AP.

The Bureau of Meteorology last month declared that a La Niña weather pattern, which is associated with above-average rainfall in eastern Australia, was underway in the Pacific.

The bureau forecast that the La Niña event may peak during the current Southern Hemisphere spring and return to neutral conditions early next year.

Sydney had its wettest July on record this year after only two weeks, passing the 1950 record of 336.1 mm (13.2 in) on the way to a total of 404 mm (15.9 in).

The ongoing deluge will see rivers in New South Wales state swollen by moderate-to-major flooding, affecting towns including Tamworth, Dubbo and Bathurst, authorities said. — Agencies