It was the second hottest summer on record across Australia and the driest in some states since 1989-90, according to the latest weather figures released by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).

Consistently warm temperatures across eastern Australia over all three months saw residents on the Mid North Coast swelter through most of January and February with below average rainfall.

In Port Macquarie, temperatures hovered around a summer average of 34 degrees, more than 12 degrees lower than the February 2017 record-breaker of 46.6 degrees which remains the hottest day on record for the region since 1995.

There were similar trends in Taree with the average summer temperature 39 degrees and at Kempsey 36 degrees.

And it looks like these patterns are likely to persist throughout autumn, according to the BoM’s senior climatologist Dr Andrew Watkins.

A weak and short-lived La Niña continues to break down, with a return to neutral conditions expected by mid-autumn.

In the past, the break down of weak La Niña events has seen drier conditions during autumn.