SPRING has sprung with a soaking wet start in Newcastle, but the sun is set to stay out for a while now.
Newcastle's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) weather station at Nobbys Beach recorded 7.8mm of rain on the last day of winter.
The city got wet again on Friday morning, the first day of spring, before the clouds cleared.
This winter season brought 142.8mm of rain to Newcastle, less than half of the 341.2mm that fell during the season last year.
The month of August bucked the trend though, with 80.4mm raining down in 2023 compared to 48.8mm in 2022.
The top winter temperature for this year was 25 degrees on August 31, according to the Nobbys weather station, which was warmer than last year's August high of 22.9 degrees.
The BOM has forecast clear skies to continue in the Hunter for early spring, with a less than 10 per cent chance of rain from Sunday through to Wednesday.
A BOM spokesperson said most of the state is likely to have below average rainfall this spring, and all of NSW is highly likely to have warmer spring days and nights than usual.
Spring is also the peak time for east coast thunderstorms.
Senior climatologist at the BOM Lynette Bettio said Australia saw what looks like its warmest winter on record this year.
"Winter has been much drier than usual for many areas, including ... parts of the east," Dr Bettio said.
"Winter has been warmer than average almost everywhere."
With the hotter weather and change of the season comes a heightened risk of bush and grass fires.
Bushfire danger period has officially started in Muswellbrook, Singleton and the Upper Hunter, and Newcastle's is due to start in October.
