Most of the Hunter received rain on Sunday as a band of thunderstorms drifted from the state's north-west across to the coast.

But for once, the heaviest falls weren't in coastal areas.

More than 25mm of rain was recorded at five Upper Hunter rainfall stations in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Stoney Creek received a regional high of 33mm, Cressfield 31mm, Parkville 28mm, Figtree Gully 27mm and Bunnan 25mm.

The majority of the Hunter received between 10mm and 25mm, including Murrurundi (14mm), Blandford (18mm), Aberdeen (17mm), Scone's Kingdon Ponds (23mm) and Tocal (25mm).

On the coast, Newcastle received 16mm, while Nelson Bay and Blacksmiths both got 10mm.

The weather was caused by a tropical low-pressure system coming from the north and a cold front coming from the Southern Ocean.

Far north-western towns of Bourke and Brewarrina were among the first to receive rain and recorded about 100mm across the weekend.

Railway Hotel publican Steve Roach said rain began falling over Murrurundi about 6pm on Sunday.

"People have told me a few different things, but it was over 20 [mm]," he said on Monday. "Everyone's very happy with it.

"We sat up and had a beer on the verandah last night listening to it, it was good."

Mr Roach, who owns a farm further west near Narromine that received 46mm, said the clouds were a welcome sight to see rolling in.

"We haven't had rain out there in donkeys, so we knew it was coming," he said. "You could see it building up. You don't see them often."

Merriwa farmer Ron Campbell said 23mm fell at his property over a couple of hours late on Sunday.

"It was very gentle rain, very, very nice and very well received," he said.

"We have a forage crop in that will benefit from that, but we would love to see a lot more to make it absolutely bounce out of the ground.

"We're very thankful for what you get, at least it will replenish some of the soft water tanks for our home and domestic use."

He said it was pleasing to see the region's heaviest rainfall occur near Scone.

"It has been very difficult in that area because they've missed out on a lot of rain that we've been able to get earlier on," he said.

"But even so, we're still not getting the type of rain we would really like. Mother nature's still in control."

Timor cattle farmer Stuart Murphy said while some areas outside of Scone had received the reported falls, it had been "patchy" for others.

"There was 25mm in Scone, but it was very patchy," he said. "The key thing is about follow up."

The Bureau of Meteorology was forecasting a 40 per cent chance of light rain across the Upper Hunter again on Tuesday, but possible falls were predicted to be less than 5mm. There was a slightly higher chance of rain in the Lower Hunter.