Heavy rain predicted for Cessnock after hot weekend

The rain is expected to arrive on Tuesday afternoon and should continue until at least Thursday.

As of Tuesday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology was predicting a high chance of showers and a thunderstorm on Tuesday afternoon, with heavy rain continuing on Wednesday – with a possible total of 70-to-120mm precipitation.

About 10-to-25mm of rain is expected on Thursday, with conditions easing by Friday (which should please those planning to attend the Kurri Kurri Nostalgia Festival and Crossroads Country in the Vines this weekend).

The downpour may cause localised flash flooding and rises in rivers and streams across the Lower Hunter.

The NSW SES is asking people in the affected areas to ensure that their properties are prepared, by cleaning their gutters, drains and downpipes; parking cars under cover and away from stormwater drains, and not entering floodwaters.

Rural property owners should consider whether livestock and equipment should be relocated to higher ground as a precaution.

Anyone requiring emergency assistance should call the NSW SES on 132 500, or triple-zero (000) if it is a life-threatening emergency.

The last time Cessnock experienced 100mm of rain in 24 hours was on January 6, 2016, when Testers Hollow was closed for five days.

Just 132.9mm of rain has fallen in Cessnock this year so far, with over a third of that (52.2mm) coming in the 24 hours up to 9am on February 26, and just six millimetres falling in the whole of January.

This week’s predicted wet weather comes after Cessnock sweltered through three days of temperatures well above the city’s long-term average for March.

The mercury peaked at 36.9 degrees on Saturday; 38.2 degrees on Sunday and 36 degrees on Monday.

According to Bureau of Meteorology record dating back to 1968, the average maximum temperature recorded at the Cessnock Airport weather station in March is 27.8 degrees.

The average high for the month so far (up to March 19) is 29.7 degrees.

That figure could be brought down by the end of the month with highs of just 22 and 23 predicted for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but the mercury is expected to climb into the high twenties on Saturday, and possibly back into the thirties by Sunday.