Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane weather: Autumn to be warmer than expected

IF YOU’RE hoping for a sudden change from the heat then you’ll be waiting a while with above-average temperatures forecast for the season.

IT MAY officially be the first day of autumn, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to cool down anytime soon.

In fact, the latest seasonal outlook issued by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) predicts much of Australia will hit above-average temperatures.

BOM senior climatologist Dr Andrew Watkins said summer was exceptionally warm and dry for much of eastern Australia, while the west was hit by record-breaking rainfall.

“Broome has already had its wettest year on record, with over 1.5m of rainfall and widespread flooding,” he said.

Dr Watkins said there had been little rain overall in eastern Australia over summer.

“Summer in the eastern two-thirds of the country was much warmer than average,” he said.

“The average temperature across the whole of Queensland exceeded 40C on two consecutive days in February with the state average of 40.5C on the 12th being Queensland’s hottest ever February day.”

The west coast had above average rainfall this summer. Picture: Bureau of Meteorology

BOM has warned with the above-average temperatures forecast, it’s not time to put away the bushfire plans just yet.

Dr Watkins said the weak La Nina pattern is breaking down but there is an increased chance for a wetter than average March in parts of eastern Australia and Tasmania.

“Historically, autumns following the end of weak La Nina events have been drier than average, however record-high water temperatures in the Tasman Sea may increase rainfall from any east coast lows that form later in the autumn and winter,” he said.

For now the BOM predicts autumn days and nights are likely to stay warm and warn heatwaves will continue to hit, particularly in areas with dry soils.

If you think things are cooling down soon, you’re probably wrong with warmer than average temperatures expected. Picture: Bureau of Meteorology

A drier than average March to May is likely for large parts of central Australia, including northern and eastern Western Australia, the southern and central Northern Territory, South Australia and western parts of the eastern mainland States.

The forecast of a wetter than average March for parts of eastern Australia comes as Queensland and NSW have been battered by wild weather in recent days.

The sunshine state has already copped up to 300mm of rain across the weekend in one of the worst starts to the wet season on record.

Last weekend, Brisbane recorded its wettest February day in 46 years.