SUN, surf and sand were Sunday favourites for Newcastle residents trying to keep cool.
Some of the warmest temperatures this side of winter were recorded in places across the Hunter on the final day of the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) had forecast a very warm 36 degrees at Newcastle on Sunday, though the mercury at the Nobbys weather station had only reached 21.9 by about 2.30pm.
The blue skies and sunshine was enough to draw people outside, with Newcastle beaches packed with swimmers, surfers and sunbakers.
Nippers got in some time on the board down with the Cooks Hill Surf Lifesaving Club, while coastal breezes gave people a breather to enjoy the outdoors on Sunday, or sweat through the iconic Sparke Helmore Triathlon.
Nobbys reached 25 degrees on Saturday.
Inland areas were much warmer - Cessnock was at 37.1 degrees at 2.30pm on Sunday, Singleton was 36.9, and Maitland was 36.2 at that time, the warmest temperatures for each of those towns since a heat wave on March 19 this year.
Scone was at 34.9 on Sunday afternoon, Merriwa was 35.1 and Tocal was 36 degrees.
Residents took to social media to remind each other to leave water out for their pets and fill up their bird baths.
The clear skies on the weekend brought a reprieve from stormy weather that raged in the Hunter during the week.
In the first 11 days of November, the BOM weather station at Nobbys clocked 62.8mm of rain, which is already more than September and October combined.
BOM meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said the amount recorded depended on the location.
"The rain was storm-driven and patchy, so many areas didn't get enough, or any at all," she said.
She said weather will be generally settled across eastern parts of the state in the coming days before "rain will converge on the NSW coast" from about mid-week.
The BOM forecast indicates temperatures in Newcastle are set to drop for Monday, when the high is expected to be 23 degrees, before picking back up to 29 on Tuesday.
Newcastle could see showers again from Wednesday.
