October was warmer than usual across Australia as a whole, with overall mean temperatures 0.93°C above the norm*, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s October climate summary statement.

• Maximum temps were 1.09°C warmer than average overall

• Minimum temps were 0.77°C warmer than average overall.

Overall mean temperatures in every single state apart from Victoria were warmer than usual. Victoria had a series of cold fronts strike the southern regions, delivering very wintry weather (often on weekends!) which didn't penetrate further north to NSW which is why the state as a whole was 0.26°C down on the average.

But perhaps the most remarkable figures for October came out of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Inmage: It was hotter than usual up north even aftrer the sun went down. Source: @getspotted via Pixabay.

• Queensland and the NT are on average Australia’s two hottest states in October, with overall mean temps of 24.7°C and 27.3°C respectively.

• Both were more than two degrees above their long-term average in October 2021.

• Qld was 2.12°C warmer than average (its fourth-warmest October on record).

• And the NT was 2.11°C warmer than average (its third-warmest October on record).

It's interesting. To those of us who live in the southern half of Australia, heat up north can sometimes seem less newsworthy because we tend to think, "Oh, it's always hot up there".

But the biggest story of spring 2021 in Australia to date is definitely the well-above temps right across the northern part of our country, and especially in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Yes, even hot places can be a lot hotter than usual.

Of course, if you follow the news page here at Weatherzone, the warm spring weather up north (which also occurred in September) won't be a surprise to you.

• There was this story about record warm nights in Darwin.

• There was this story about record early season heat across northern Australia.

• There was this story about Darwin’s hottest September day on record (a scorching 38.0°C).

• There was this story about Brisbane’s hottest October day in 17 years (a sweltering 36.3°C).

There were also plenty more stories, so be sure to check our news page daily for everything that's going on with the weather, whether it's the latest severe thunderstorm or an interesting statistical anomaly.

*A WORD ABOUT THE "CLIMATE NORMAL REFERENCE PERIOD"

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology uses a 30-year period from 1961-1990 as its standard reference period as defined by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The standard reference period is commonly used in its climate maps, climate statistics and more.

So when we say that Australia as a whole, or a state or particular location, was warmer than the average, we're talking about the average of that standard reference period from 1961-1990.