The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for the region with wind gusts tipped to reach 90 kilometres an hour in Newcastle and between 40 and 60 millimetres of rain forecast to fall across Maitland. More than 100 millimetres of rain is expected to fall on the coast over 24 hours and damaging wind conditions are expected to develop in Newcastle and other coastal areas of the Hunter. 

Bureau forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse said a low pressure system over central eastern-Queensland and a high pressure system over the Tasman Sea are dragging a humid tropical air mass over parts of NSW.

She said heavy rainfall over northeastern NSW is likely during Thursday and Friday as a cold front approaches from the southwest and interacts with this humid air mass.

"We have issued a severe weather warning for the Hunter with heavy rain expected to fall across the region for most of the day Thursday and remnant showers on Friday," Ms Woodhouse said.

She said temperatures are expected to drop significantly and showers will continue across the region over the weekend.

Fairfax Media has reported how a Hunter couple has been in lockdown in their Daydream Island hotel room as Cyclone Debbie heads for the Queensland mainland.

Wally and Leanne Morris from Maitland arrived on the island on Friday to celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary. By Saturday the winds had become so strong that the ferry port was shutdown and the couple knew they would be in for a wild ride as Cyclone Debbie approached.