Hunter residents should prepare for some wild weather this afternoon and later this evening as the remnants of Cyclone Debbie close in on the region.
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The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for the Hunter and the Hunter Region SES has put residents on notice telling them to brace themselves for heavy rain, the possibility of flash flooding and strong wind.
Wind gusts are tipped to reach 90 kilometres an hour in Newcastle and coastal areas like Port Stephens. Between 40 and 60 millimetres of rain is forecast to fall across Maitland with more than 100 millimetres expected to fall on the coast over the next 24 hours.
Heavy storms are likely in Cessnock, Singleton and most parts of the lower Hunter. Areas around Dungog, Scone and Muswellbrook can also expect heavy rain.
A low pressure system over central eastern Queensland and is gradually moving southeast, while a high pressure system over the Tasman Sea is dragging humid tropical air to northeastern NSW.
At the same time a cold front over the far south and west of the state is moving east bringing a southerly change to southern and western districts today, and to the northeast on Friday.
The interaction between this front and the humid air mass is forecast to generate widespread rain across the Hunter, with moderate to heavy falls likely.
Conditions are expected to ease later Friday as the front and low move away to the east.
Large and powerful surf conditions are also forecast for Thursday evening and expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing.
Hunter Region SES Community Engagement Coordinator Raechel Squires said the organisation has volunteers on standby across all its Hunter sites.
“We are in a state of readiness and also have our incident management team planning and putting together warnings,” Ms Squires said.
“All our units are following local flood plans and are ready to act. If people need assistance they should ring 132500. We are advising Hunter residents to stay alert, follow our Facebook pages and listen to local news bulletins,” Ms Squires said.
She said volunteers are preparing for roof damage, fallen trees etc. She said the SES will only respond to fallen tree incidents if they are blocking access routes, have fallen on homes or are a threat to the public.
“It is hard to predict if there will be any flash flooding but there is always that risk, particularly in low lying areas. We are asking people to follow our advice not to cross and waterways and to keep up to date with the latest warnings with the Bureau of Meteorology.”