NELSON Bay has smashed a 107-year rainfall record, with 457 millimetres falling in the three days to Saturday morning.
The Hunter has been lashed with rain over the last few days, with coastal areas hit particularly hard during the sustained deluge.
And while there was flooding around the Hunter and Paterson Rivers further west, it was Nelson Bay that eclipsed long-standing multi-day rainfall records, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Meteorologist Dr Helen Kirkup said Nelson Bay also broke the two-day rainfall record with 252mm falling in the 48 hours before 9am on Friday.
Dr Kirkup said the multi-day rainfall data went back 107 years. As well as Nelson Bay, Cessnock recorded 86.88mm in a single day, breaking a record for the wettest day in March.
And underscoring the sustained nature of the deluge, a number of areas around Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast recorded massive seven-day rainfall numbers.
Dr Kirkup said Blacksmiths (404mm), Wyong (372mm), Dora Creek (349mm) and Cooranbong (313mm) had all been smashed, with the majority of those falls coming in the last few days.
Up at Cabbage Tree Mountain, north of Karuah, there had been massive falls over the past seven days, with the total reaching 603mm, according to the BOM.
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Meanwhile, up near the Gloucester River, the two-day rainfall record had been eclipsed with 222mm falling during the 48 hours to 9am on Saturday.
Residents at Gloucester were preparing for more rain and the potential for flash flooding on Sunday, with community members driving around and sandbagging businesses in the main street.
Sarah Martin-Matheson and her daughter, two-year-old Ruby, were among them and Ms Martin-Matheson said the "small-town spirit" of local businesses like Drifta Camping & 4WD was great to see.
RECORD RAIN
SEVEN DAY TOTALS:
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Cabbage Tree mountain - 603mm
- Nelson Bay - 510mm
- Blacksmiths - 404mm
- Wyong - 372mm
- Dora Creek - 349mm
- Cooranbong - 313mm
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