Cousins Charli and Ella Doering at Port Kembla Beach. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER
Yesterday's temperatures didn't break any Wollongong records but hundreds of people still took the chance to enjoy the warm weather down at the beach.
Among them were three-year-old cousins Charli and Ella Doering, who were spotted at Port Kembla Beach enjoying the sun, despite the gusty winds.
The temperature in Wollongong reached 26 degrees yesterday, well above the average September maximum of 21 degrees, but still off the record of 33 degrees, registered in 2006.
As for those winds, they were quite gusty at times throughout the region.
"We've had strong west to north-westerly winds throughout the Illawarra today," a Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman said.
"Wind speeds have been around 40 to 50km/h with some locations recording mean winds of around 55 to 60km/h with gusts of up to 90km/h."
It was those strong winds that had firefighters still monitoring a fire at Budderoo National Park near Jamberoo, with wind speeds predicted to reach 90km/h at times again today.
Rural Fire Service Inspector Chris Palmer said fire crews would continue to patrol the perimeter of the fire to ensure it did not flare again.
"That's mainly because of the high winds we're expecting overnight and tomorrow," Inspector Palmer said.
