Days and nights were warmer than average this summer across much of Victoria, especially in the north-east.
But the season's end was cooler than usual; February's mean maximum temperature was 1.15 degrees below the long-term average and the lowest since 2011.
Summer rainfall was close to average for most areas, but below average in parts of the north and the far east, and above average in the south-east of the state.
January and February were wetter than average, but December was very dry (the fifth-driest December on record), dragging down the three-month totals.
Statewide, summer rainfall was close to average at 5 per cent below the long-term mean of 120 millimetres.
Daytime temperatures were above average across most of Victoria, but closer to average in the southern parts of the state.
The mean maximum temperature for Victoria over summer 2019/20 was 1.07 degrees above average.
Daytime temperatures in December were very much above average for most of Victoria, and a major contributor to the warmer than average season overall.
Statewide, it was the second-warmest December on record, 3.12 degrees warmer than the long-term average for the month.
Daytime temperatures were also warmer than average in January; in contrast, during February, historically the warmest month of the year for Victoria, daytime temperatures were cooler than average.
This contrast across the season is illustrated by Melbourne's high temperatures; in December, the city had three days over 40 degrees (the most since 1897), while it had no days over 35 degrees in February, which hasn't happened since 1994.
Victorian night-time temperatures during summer were 1.10 degrees above average, with all months being warmer than average overall.
Severe thunderstorms developed in the afternoon on January 15 and 19, bringing heavy rainfall, flash flooding and damaging winds to central Victoria and parts of Melbourne.
Widespread, follow-up rainfall on January 20 and 22 helped reduce the number of uncontained bushfires in the state's east.
And the rain kept coming in February.
Large areas in the south-east and west of the state received more than double their average monthly rainfall.
Cold fronts that crossed Victoria at the beginning of the month brought widespread rainfall to the state, with daily rainfall totals exceeding 30mm at many sites.
- Jonathan Pollock is a BoM climatologist
