THE sweet combination of summer-like conditions and school holidays had Novocastrians flocking to the city's beaches on Wednesday to escape the heat.
Nobbys Beach was a popular choice for families as they enjoyed a final day in a stretch of hot weather before the predicted cool change on Wednesday evening.
Newcastle reached a comfortable maximum of 25 degrees at 2pm, down from a high of 30 degrees on Tuesday.
Much to the relief of the NSW Rural Fire Service and residents of Kearsley, Elrington and Abernethy, conditions were also cooler in Cessnock, down to 28 degrees after peaking at 35 on Tuesday.
The calmer conditions allowed fire crews to keep the Allandale Street bushfire at Kearsley under control.
A fire at Click Creek Trail at Congewai, west of Freemans Waterhole, remains out of control, while the Watagans National Park blaze is being controlled.
The Bureau of Meteorology predicts Newcastle will reach 25 degrees on Thursday with northwesterly winds of 25 to 35 km/h increasing to 30 to 45 km/h in the morning, then turning westerly in the early afternoon.
Cessnock can expect a high of 22 degrees with westerly winds increasing up to 30km/h to 50km/h during the day.
