The upper Hunter, near
Singleton, is generally hotter than the lower, with temperatures exceeding 40C on some days.
The highest official temperature for the Hunter Region was recorded on January 1, 2006. The upper Hunter town of Singleton recorded a maximum temperature of 45.9C, which was 0.3C higher then the highest previously recorded temperature (45.6C) in Jerrys Plains on Christmas Day in 1957.
It would not be uncommon for 400mm of rain to fall in January and February with some spectacular thunderstorms creating problems for the wine growers.
There can be as many as 30-40 thunderstorms per year across the upper Hunter, with slightly less (20) in the lower regions. These storms can also be dangerous, producing large hail, strong winds and occasionally a tornado.
Light breezes from the coast help to cool down both visitors and locals around evening time although they rarely reach up the valley and only affect lower regiond and towns.
The grape harvest usually starts in late January and as the season rolls into Autumn, the days get shorter with temperatures cooling to mid-20s centigrade.
Winter in the Valley is glorious with clear blue skies and mild temperatures averaging 18C. The nights are cool, with the smell of log burning fires as winds become westerly and temperatures dip to 9C nearer the coast and freezing at 0-2C in the upper Valley. There are on average 30 days of frost in the
upper Hunter per year. There have been recorded incidents of snow on higher ground, but it is a very rare occurrence.
Click Here is the official Hunter Valley weather forecast from the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology.
