NSW experienced a shift in weather patterns during October as record-breaking early-season heat was replaced by more frequent days of cloud and rain. The state made it through October without any days over 40 degrees. While this is not unusual at this time of year - the last 40 degrees in October was in 2014 - it was a notable contrast to September. Temperature records tumbled across NSW at the start of spring as an unusually intense pool of heat targeted the state. NSW registered its earliest 40 degrees on record on September 23rd and Wanaaring Post Office's 41.4 degrees later in the month became the highest September temperature ever recorded in NSW. In contrast to the searing early-spring heat, temperatures failed to climb above 40 degrees in NSW during October. The state's highest temperature last month was 38.0 degrees, which occurred at Mungindi Post Office on Monday this week. The lack of mid-spring 40 degree days can be attributed to a change in weather patterns across the state. This shift has seen cloud and rain returning to parched soils in parts of the Murray Darling Basin. After the state's driest September on record, large swathes of northern and western NSW picked up one-to-three times the monthly average rainfall during October. Unfortunately, rain was still significantly below average for some parts of central and southern NSW last month. Wanaaring Post Office was once again a standout location during October. After setting a new state heat record in September, the site's 115mm of rain last month was more than five times its October average and its wettest calendar month in seven years.