A torrential downpour, cloudy skies and lack of surfable waves mean one thing for adventurous Port Macquarie locals - a trip to Windmill Hill.

Carnage unfolded as wetsuit-clad youngsters flew down the sodden hill on their stomachs and knees or - for those who have mastered the art - standing on two feet. 

For decades, locals have favoured the spot during severe weather and rain.

Long-time local and Port News photographer Peter Gleeson remembers being a Windmill Hill bodyboarding pioneer in 1990.

"It's been going on for years and years," he said." We used to skimboard in the sports fields and then we saw the rain pouring down the hill.

"We were bored and it was way better than being out in the surf when it was out of control."

Port Macquarie, on the NSW north coast, has been drenched by more than 300 millimetres of rain since Friday.