Parts of southeast Queensland just had their hottest March day on record.

A slow-moving low pressure trough over Queensland directed an unseasonably hot air mass into the state's southeast on Monday.

Image: Observed temperatures across southeast Qld on Monday afternoon.

Gatton's 40.0C shortly after 1pm EST was their highest March temperature on record, with data available back to 1965.

It was also the hottest March day in recorded history for Warwick (37.4C), which also has also been collecting observations for more than 50 years.

For Ipswich (38.6C) and Gayndah (39.8C), Monday was the hottest March day in 12 years.

These temperatures were valid as of 3pm EST and may change slightly by the end of the day.

Visit http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/observations/qldall.shtml?ref=hdr for the latest observations in Queensland.