Sydneysiders were kept awake for much of the night as the temperature hovered above 26 degrees, making it the warmest night since summer.

The official minimum temperature for this 24-hour period is 24 degrees, recorded at 9am yesterday. However, this is still Sydney’s highest November minimum temperature in 44 years.

Last night’s warmth wasn’t confined to the city. Residents across Sydney, the Hunter and Illawarra had difficulty sleeping.

Bankstown had its warmest November night in more than 40 years, only dipping to 23, also nine above average.

Newcastle stayed above 25 degrees most of the night, only briefly dipping below 22 after 5am. This makes it the warmest night since summer and warmest November night in 14 years.

It was also Wollongong’s warmest night since summer, staying above 20 degrees, also its warmest November night in seven years.

Cloud cover and northerly winds held some of yesterday’s heat in to give us this warm night.

Today will be another warm one Sydney and the Hunter, hitting the high 20s and low 30s before rain and thunderstorms arrive.

We need to be alert – these storms have potential to bring 100km/h wind gusts, flash flooding and large hail.

– Weatherzone