The southeast corner of Queensland will enter autumn longing for rain and cooler temperatures after enduring its hottest summer on record. While summer is typically southeast Queensland's wettest season, this year it was defined by infrequent rainfall and an excess of hot days. Brisbane recorded its hottest summer on record with an average temperature (combined minimum and maximum) of 26.8 degrees. This is an exceptional two degrees above the long-term average and beats the previous record from 2006 by 0.1 of a degree. The temperature in Brisbane reached or exceeded 30 degrees on 64 days throughout summer, which is the highest number in 11 years and the third highest on record for the season. Temperature data in Brisbane are available for the last 130 years. The capital city received 351mm of rain during the season, which is close to 100mm below the long term average. More than half of this amount fell during two days in January. The Darling Downs was even hotter and drier. Oakey's 131mm of rain this season was just over half of their long term seasonal average. It was also the town's hottest summer on record based on all measures including average minimum (19.1C), average maximum (33.5C) and combined average (26.3C) temperatures. Autumn is typically drier and cooler than summer in southeast Queensland, although the outlook may not provide much comfort for hot and thirsty locals. Forecast models are not showing any clear signs of major shifts in weather patterns across eastern Australia during the months ahead. As a result, temperatures are expected to remain warmer than usual from March to May and rainfall will most likely be near-to-below average throughout autumn.