A LOW-intensity heatwave built over south-east Australia from the middle of last week and has continued to spread and cover most of Victoria for a few days this week.
A warm to hot and humid north-easterly airstream is expected to bring muggy conditions for much of the week.
Keep an eye on the Bureau of Meteorology's Victorian Warnings Summary webpage for Brown Rot Advice.
A wetter than average February to April is likely for much of eastern Australia, including eastern Victoria, however for most of western Victoria there is roughly equal chances of above or below-average rainfall.
Nights are likely to remain warmer than average across Victoria during February to April but days are likely to be cooler than average in the east and warmer than average in the west.
Root zone soil moisture for January to date is below average across western Victoria and south-east South Australia.
Soil moisture is mixed across central Victoria, tending to above average in the north-east and East Gippsland and southern Victoria and close to average for the north-west.
Stream flows were higher than average at most sites in eastern Victoria during December thanks to above]-average rainfall over the east during the last quarter of 2021.
High stream flows are likely at some sites in eastern Victoria until March, while near-average and below-average flows are expected in the west.
Storage levels in the Murray-Darling Basin have been tracking at just over 90 per cent full during January, the highest they have been during January since at least 1980.
In the South East Coast (Victoria) drainage division, storages were 53.9pc full, up 14.8pc on the same time last year.
Melbourne's water storage level is 88.7pc
Our major climate drivers are still expected to influence weather patterns for the remainder of summer.
The current La Nina event is likely at or near its peak with a return to a neutral phase likely in early autumn 2022.
The La Nina pattern is likely what is contributing to the wetter than average outlook that currently exists for parts of eastern Australia.
A neutral El Nino-Southern Oscillation phase (neither La Nina or El Nino) doesn't push our weather towards wetter or drier conditions.
The Southern Annular Mode index is forecast to be at neutral to positive levels during the remainder of January and into early February.