Hobart just had its hottest December day on record, putting the city on track to register its hottest year since observations began in 1882 based on maximum temperatures.

In the presence of hot northwesterly winds ahead of an approaching cold front, Hobart reached 40.8 degrees at 1:47pm on Monday. This was the city's highest December temperature on record, beating 40.6 degrees from the same date in 1897.

It was also Hobart's highest temperature for any month since 2013 and one of only nine times the mercury has reached 40 degrees in the city since records commenced more than 130 years ago.

With Monday's 40.9 degrees and a top of 22 forecast for Tuesday, Hobart's average annual maximum temperature for 2019 will come in at around 18.7 degrees. This will also be a new record for the city, beating 18.5 degrees from 2017.

The hottest place in the state on Monday was Friendly Beaches, which reached 41.9 degrees at 3pm. This is Tasmania's second highest temperature on record for any month, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's online climate database, behind 42.2ºC at Scamander in January 2009.

In addition to the heat, it has been one of Hobart's driest years on record too. As of 9am on Monday, only 382mm of rain had reached the city's gauge during 2019 according to the Bureau of Meteorology. This is the second lowest annual total on record, trumped only by 346.6mm in 2006.

However, there is likely to be some rain in Hobart on Monday night, so this figure could change slightly before the end of the year. Based on how much rain is likely to fall, this should remain one of Hobart's seven driest years on record.