And so they are...it's Melbourne. It's just that right now, the teens seem fewer and further between!

Indeed it is....and spring and autumn can be nice too.

Carbs are in for 2013, maximum carbage

Hey, I'm fickle ...

This summer in Melbourne has been far from typical, in fact it has been one of the hottest and driest on record, with over 100 years of reliable records.

I think Feb is currently tracking around second or third hottest on record (29.4C average max currently, close to 4C above average) and also the days above 30C record is likely to be broken for this month, the figure is likely to end up 15 whereas I'm pretty sure the previous record was 14 in 1997. The average for February is only 8 days above 30C.

It's not just Melbourne either, a huge part of Australia has been affected this summer by extreme and long lived heat and also dry in the far south east of the continent. Even Tasmania and New Zealand have been affected from what I can gather.

The comparison with southern France and Spain for Melbourne was a good one. These places are at similar degrees of latitude from the equator so you would expect similar temps, all other things being equal.

An important thing to remember about Melbourne's climate though is that winters get colder the further inland you go and also the higher in elevation you go. In summer it gets hotter the further inland you go but of course elevation makes it cooler at the same time.

Out in the Dandenongs for example, the climate is very similar to southern England although much wetter than places like London. Central and inner Melbourne is significantly milder than southern UK in winter, warmer in spring and autumn and hotter days in summer with roughly comparable rainfall, although seabreezes and southerly changes keep the average down in the south of Victoria as opposed to the inland which gets pretty hot.

Up on the Great Dividing range and surrounding hills (which gets within 50 kms of Melbourne) it gets pretty cold (below 10C for most of the time between June and late August) with occasional snowfalls and frequent frosts. Spring stays pretty cool too on a lot of the days. There has been snow observed on a number of occasions as late as November on the central ranges of VIC down to about 400m asl.

We're all over it a bit...I want a change. As I've said, I don't think it's that hot, I don't find 32-33 hot - but it is continuous..it's more akin to what people in Sydney or Perth get - continous hot days.
Also of interest, Feb started out with high 20s..there were similar days at the end of Jan....quite pleasant after a very hot end to the year. I was overseas at Christmas and missed the really hot start in summer.

Looks like rain due this week, thunderstorms as well.

Beauty...bring it on...then March!!

This has to be the most comprehensive and sensible weather thread ever!

I wonder where the OP go to?

All I'd add is, most places are hotter than the UK in summer. One adapts. Which is fine but then winter in southern Victoria feels as cold as ever it did.

The thermometer might say 17 and the sun might be out but with predominantly cold southerlies blowing it can feel very cold indeed.

As someone said earlier, take your pick.

I'm dreaming of 17 right now....and a glass of red...in front of a fire..
but I know all this stuff about being easier to warm up than cool down may be literally true - (by exercise for one thing) but when most people are cold and feel sorry for themselves then they bloody forget when they were hot. It's true I tell you! The reality is that people like mild weather and a modicum of brightness.

He doesn't get around much these days

One of these for you:

And another one for you:

My ignore list has just been activated.