Wild weather like that which smashed many parts of NSW last week returned to the Hunter on Monday and was expected to continue throughout the night before settling on Tuesday.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, wind gusts as fast as 82km/h were recorded at Nobbys at 10.30am and at Williamtown at 2pm.
Gusts in many places across the region reached at least into the 50s, with a 76km/h gust detected at Maitland and 72km/h at Murrurundi Gap.
The west to northwesterly winds were linked to a trough that extended across the alps to central and southeastern coastal parts of NSW, the BoM said.
A gale warning in place for the Hunter and several other locations in NSW on Monday was expected to be downgraded to a strong wind warning for Tuesday - particularly for the Hunter Coast, Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast and Batemans Coast.
Northwesterly winds from 30 to 45km/h on Tuesday morning are predicted to ease to 25 to 35km/h in the late afternoon.
The chill is likely to remain in the air through this week, with overnight temperatures in the Hunter between three and seven degrees on Tuesday, two and six degrees on Wednesday and one and four degrees on Thursday.
Daytime temperatures across the region are forecast to reach between 11 and 15 degrees on Tuesday, nine and 15 degrees on Wednesday and 10 and 15 degrees on Thursday.
