Mr Osborn said the 40mm of rain he received this week had been a welcome reprieve from a dry winter.

His family has farmed potatoes, watermelon, pumpkins and lucerne at the Pitnacree Road property since the 1930s.

While this week’s rain had been helpful for his crops, Mr Osborn said it was still dry deep underground.

“It’s been dry for a while, since early June,” he said.

“We have been irrigating flat out since then. The frost has dried things out, which usually happens in winter.”

Weather Watch meteorologist Don White said it was likely that rainfall would break Maitland’s August average of 60mm this week.

Mr White said a high pressure system over Tasmania had caused on-shore winds to blow onto the east coast of NSW, which increased the chances of rainfall.

He said there was usually a low pressure system over Tasmania during this time of year, which caused westerly winds and drier conditions.

“The outlook is that we will continue to have unusual August weather,” he said.

“August and September are typically the driest months of the year and February is the wettest.

“It looks like we are going to have a wetter than average August because we are already close to the average.”

“There will be more rain over NSW for the next week.”

There is a 90 per cent chance of rain in Maitland every day until next Wednesday, according to Weather Zone.

One to 5mm is forecast for today and tomorrow, while 10mm to 20mm is predicted for each day from Sunday to Wednesday.