Bureau forecasts May's big soaking to linger through winter

Only a select band of seasoned surfers took on the big waves at Newcastle Beach on Monday afternoon. Pictures by Peter Lorimer.

NEWCASTLE experienced the second wettest May in almost a century and the damp conditions are expected to linger throughout winter.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Nobbys Beach recorded 316.2 millimetres in May, almost three times the monthly median.

It was the highest recorded rainfall since 2001 when a record 441.3mm bucketed the Hunter coastline, and second biggest amount of precipitation since 324.8mm fell in 1925.

May was also Newcastle's wettest month since 404mm fell in January 2016.

The weekend also provided a damp start to winter for Newcastle as 57.4mm - half of June's median rainfall - fell on Saturday and Sunday.

A Newcastle surfer weighing up whether to tackle the big surf at city beach on Monday. Picture by Peter Lorimer

The BoM's Blacksmiths station recorded 249mm, its wettest May since records started in 2005 and the highest single month since 524mm fell in March 2021.

Although conditions were drier inland, the rain gauges still clocked high totals.

Maitland recorded 131mm, its highest for the month since records started in 2007 and Cessnock Airport (108.2mm) experienced its highest rainfall in May in 26 years.

"It was due to warm sea surface temperatures, combined with upper level troughs that went through NSW, and each time these things happened we've seen coastal low-pressure systems that brought significant rainfall," BoM meteorologist Jiwon Park said.

Mr Park said he doesn't expect winter and early spring to deliver a reprieve from rainfall.

"Our long-term forecasting indicates that we may see wetter than average conditions over the coming months," he said.

Sunny skies finally returned to the Hunter on Monday along with cold and strong westerly winds.

Nobbys reached a top of 15.5 degrees, while Cessnock and Maitland both struggled to 14 degrees.

The low pressure system in the Tasman Sea, combined with westerly winds led to the BoM issuing a hazardous surf warning for the Hunter coast.

Only a handful of board riders were brave enough to tackle the pumping 2.5m surf at Newcastle Beach.

The swell is expected decrease to one to 1.5 metres on Tuesday as the low pressure system weakens and moves further south.