The mean maximum temperature to date is 38.4 degrees with temperatures nudging 40 degrees the last days of the month. The 10 hottest February months occurred in 1884, 1886, 1889, 1900, 1965, 1983, 1986, 1998, 2007 and 2018. All saw significant hot dry conditions during nearly all of March over most of Victoria and through all of NSW and right up to the Warrego and Maranoa district away from the coast where heavy rainfalls occurred from Sydney most of the way to South Johnstone. The significant hot dry conditions will continue to well into April until heavy rain arrives about Saturday April 20. The latter part of those years at Alice Springs led to high temperatures during October in our regions.

MORE WEATHER

It has become very dry in the western half of Victoria with many towns recording no rain since January 26 after heavy rain in December and the first half of January.

Stawell and Horsham have had no rain since January 26. At Horsham a wet January was followed by a very dry February in 1953 and again in 1936 and also in 1991. March and the first fortnight of April out these three cases were much warmer and drier than average. At Stawell, which has records dating back to 1868, a wet January in 1870 was followed by no rain in February 1870 and it was very hot and dry all of March 1870 and early April. Stawell had a wet January in 1962 and then a very dry February, after which March and April 1962 were both decisively warmer and drier right up to just after Anzac Day in Victoria and NSW.

The hottest day of this summer/autumn has not yet arrived in our region. It looks certain that the Victorian long weekend in March will see the highest temperature of just over 40 degrees, very close on Friday March 8.