Melbourne's last month of winter has been a breeze for its residents, it was the warmest August in 157 years of record. Both nights and days were the second warmest on record, but combining the two, it turned out to be the warmest ever recorded. This August, daytime maximum temperatures averaged 17.4 degrees, two and a half degrees warmer than long-term norm. This is just 0.3 of a degree short of the record, set in 1982. Overnight minimums this month averaged 9.0 degrees, also two-and-a-half degrees warmer than normal. This is only 0.2 of a degree shy of the all-time high, set in 1999. Combining this August's nighttime and daytime temperatures, the average was 13.2 degrees, 0.1 of a degree warmer than the previous August record, which was set in 2007. This warmth has been due to large and slow-moving high pressure systems over the Tasman Sea, which helped to reduce the strength of cold fronts approaching from the west. It meant that warm northerly winds affected Victoria most of the time. The lack of strong fronts meant that it was also a dry August, the driest in four years. Only 18mm of rain fell, 32mm less than average and only 6mm more than the record low, set in 1903.