The closest the city came to the roaring 40s since then was on January 2 this year, as Melbourne blistered under a maximum temperature of 38.8 degrees.

Aside from that, the temperature has rarely been close to 40 this summer, with just six days above 35 degrees since November.

It pales in comparison to last year's summer, when Melbourne recorded seven days over 40, including a hellish stretch of four in a row in January.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan said Melbourne could escape the summer without a 40-degree day, with no major heatwaves on the horizon.

It's been 10 years since the city made it through the summer unscathed without a day over 40 degrees.