LAST summer was the hottest one in five years in Wangaratta.

This is the first time since 2019/20 that the mean maximum temperature for the summer has reached 32 degrees, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Data from the Celsius bureau indicated that the mean maximum temperature for the summer was 32C, surpassing the historical average of 30.8C.

February's mean temperature was 32.9C, 1.9C higher than the historical average.

December and January's mean temperatures were also above 30C, so it's no wonder that the heat this summer was particularly biting.

Over the summer, 18 days exceeded 35C according to the bureau, seven of which came back-to-back in the first week of February.

The highest daily recorded temperature last month was 38.7C on Wednesday, 5 February, closely followed by 38.5C two days earlier and 37.9C on Friday, 7 February.

While the bureau did not record any 40C days over the summer, it did come awfully close, recording a 39.8C day on 5 January.

The bureau reported the average minimum temperatures for the summer (14.2C) surpassed the historical average of 13.3C.

In February, the average minimum temperature recorded was 15.0C, 1.3C higher than the historical average (13.7C), with the lowest temperature for the summer also having occurred in this month at 4.8C on February, 17.

Rainfall last summer was much drier than the 2023/24 season, totalling 106mm, with downpours in early December and a few major rain events in January and February.

This was 146.6mm less than 2023/24.

Despite the below-average rainfall last summer, it was not nearly as dry as the summer of 2022/23 which only recorded 70.6mm.

Rainfall data from last summer followed similar patterns from the 2018/19 season, with the highest total monthly rainfall recorded in December (55.4mm) and the lowest in January (24mm).

December produced the most rain over the summer, with the wettest day generating 24.2mm of rainfall.

February’s rainfall was 14.1mm less than the historical average monthly rainfall (40.7mm).

The average summer rainfall of 26.6mm also fell short of the historical average with 132.6mm.

Looking into autumn, we should expect an abnormally warm next three months, with the bureau predicting there is a 92 per cent chance maximum temperatures will exceed the historical median (22.7C).

Next week, there is an 86 pc chance of maximum temperatures surpassing the historical median.

The Bureau predicts a 67 pc chance of unusually warm temperatures of above 23.3C.

The likelihood of a warmer autumn is furthered through the odds of above median minimum temperatures across the coming months, with a predicted 96 pc chance of minimum temperatures rising above the historical median and a 72 pc chance of unusually warm minimum temperatures.