You weren't imagining it: 94 per cent of rain in June fell on weekends

Clockwise from left, a Hunter rugby game got muddy, rainy weather on June 30, and a big swell off the Newcastle coast. Pictures by Marina Neil, Jonathan Carroll

Joe Hinchey fishing with his mother Jess Cox during a moody Sunday on June 30 at Booragul. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

A big swell at Newcastle Ocean Baths on June 17. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

Weekend sport has been affected by the wet weather, including at this muddy rugby game on June 15. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

Merewether and Maitland faced off in a rugby game on June 1 that was messy and muddy. Picture by Marina Neil

Dachshund puppy Sunday was rugged up during cold weather on June 4. Picture by Peter Lorimer

Winter solstice on June 21. Picture by Marina Neil

Jesse Mitchell with his kids, Lily and Luca, rugged up and searching for shells and sea glass during rainy weather on June 22. Picture by Marina Neil

THE nursery rhyme telling rain to "go away, come again another day" has never been more relevant in Newcastle with almost all of June's wet weather arriving on a weekend.

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) data reveals almost 94 per cent of rainfall notched at the Nobbys weather station last month was on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

June brought 180 millimetres of rain to the city, and 170.2 millimetres of that fell on those days, with very little in between. It was the wettest June since 2018, when 301.4 millimetres fell.

BOM data records rainfall totals in the 24 hours to 9am each day.

On the weekend of June 1 and 2, 57.4 millimetres of rain fell in Newcastle.

A week later on the 7^th, a Saturday, there was 17.6 millimetres recorded in the 24 hours to 9am.

Almost 54 millimetres of rain fell the next weekend, while 31.4 millimetres was notched according to the readings on the following Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The last weekend in June stayed true to the trend, with 10mm of rain recorded at Nobbys in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday, July 1.

Of the 9.8 millimetres of rain that didn't fall on or around a weekend, most of it fell in the 24 hours to 9am on Friday, June 6.

Just a few drops were recorded on June 3, June 18 and June 26.

The timing of the wet weather has wreaked havoc on weekend sports and plans for many.

Hunter Rugby Union president James Slattery publicly defended the decision to play games between Maitland and Merewether on a water-logged Marcellin Park on Saturday, June 3.

Large sections of the grounds were turned into a bog throughout the day and photos from the match show players covered in mud.

The Newcastle Herald reported on June 18 that washouts had plagued the winter sporting season and some players had not seen a single game in a month.

Newcastle Football general manager Chris Brain said it had been "bedlam".

In June 2023, just 3.4 millimetres was recorded at Nobbys.

The wet weather was expected to continue in Newcastle, with a high chance of showers forecast daily from Monday night through to Sunday.

The BOM's long-term forecast for July to September predicted that "rainfall is likely to be above average" for the eastern seaboard.