This winter was Australia's fifth-warmest winter on record when looking at daytime temperatures, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's winter summary released today.

Rainfall was below average, particularly in New South Wales, where it was the eighth-driest winter on record and the driest since 2002.

Key points: 5th warmest winter on record for maximum temperatures

5th warmest winter on record for maximum temperatures In the warmest ten winters for NSW, QLD, SA, and NT

In the warmest ten winters for NSW, QLD, SA, and NT Rainfall below average, 8th driest for NSW

Rainfall below average, 8th driest for NSW With droughts you need to consider rainfall, temperature AND evaporation rates. They all lead to soil dryness.

Senior climatologist Blair Trewin said winter was just the latest in a sequence of dry seasons for NSW.

"If we had just had the eighth-driest winter on record on its own and conditions had been okay before that, it wouldn't have anywhere near the impact we are seeing," Dr Trewin said.

"If you look at a slightly longer time range, it has been the driest year to date for NSW since 1965.

"There are areas inland, particularly in the western part of the state, which have had their driest January to August on record."

It has not just been a dry year to date — it has been hot too.

"Nationally, daytime temperatures for the year-to-date are running at their highest on record, at about 1.3 degrees above the long-term average," Dr Trewin said.

It hasn't just been dry of late it has also been hot and the impacts are adding up. ( Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology )

Not dry everywhere

Quite a bit of the southern coastal fringe of the country did okay rainfall-wise this winter.

"Central and western Tasmania had above-average rainfall, and rainfall was average to slightly above average in parts of southern South Australia, south-west Victoria and also parts of south-west Western Australia," Dr Trewin said.

He said south-west Western Australia was a particular standout.

"[It] has had a pretty significant long-term drying trend, so getting a near-average year is actually one of the better years they've had for a while."

Lack of rain over the last six months is not the only factor in the current drought. ( Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology )

There was also a little bit of rain in the Top End, but Dr Trewin said any rain in the Top End in winter was abnormal.

"Even though the amounts were fairly small, it still shows up as being well above average," he said.

What has been driving conditions this winter?

Dr Trewin said it had been a reasonably bland picture for climate drivers over winter.

"Probably the real standout in the pattern for particularly July and August is we had a consistent high pressure over much of the Australian continent," he said.

"But also strong westerlies on the southern fringe of that high-pressure system, and that was bringing regular rain to the southern coastline, but not much further north."

Dr Trewin said what we did not see at all during winter was any significant intrusions of moisture from the north or north-west, which typically brought heavy rainfalls.

Droughts are about more than just rain

This is the type of image most people think of when they think about the drought ( ABC Longreach: Melanie Groves )

Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes fellow at the University of Melbourne, Joelle Gergis, said just looking at rainfall did not give the full story when it came to drought.

She said with droughts, things to be considered included rainfall, temperature and evaporation rates.

All of these interdependent factors lead to soil dryness, which is a problem because dry soils reduce crop and feed growth as well as runoff for water storage.

"Temperature is really a massive influence in terms of the evaporation," Dr Gergis said.

High evaporation rates are helped by high temperatures as well as high winds and clear atmospheric conditions, which dry out soils.

Combination of factors worsens drought

This year's high temperatures, low rainfall and high evaporation rates have been compounding to worsen the drought.

"We have actually seen maximum temperatures in NSW running about 2.2 degrees warmer than average, which is obviously exacerbating the rainfall deficits that we're experiencing," Dr Gergis said.

This winter's pan evaporation rate for Australia was the third-highest on record.

As a consequence, large parts of NSW are currently experiencing rootzone moisture levels at their lowest 1 per cent on record.

Hot and dry conditions over the last year have led to dry soils for vast swathes of the country and particularly NSW. ( Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology )

Dr Trewin said dry soils could in turn affect temperatures.

"When you have low soil moisture, you tend to get higher daytime and lower night-time temperatures. The influence of that tends to be fairly site specific," he said.

Dr Trewin believed dry soils were probably a contributor to some of the extreme low temperatures experienced in some areas during the winter — getting down to about -7 in places like Parkes for example, which was unusual.

Future droughts hotting up

Drought is not an unfamiliar concept for Australia.

"We've already got this natural variability. We are this land of drought and flooding rain, so we do experience drought conditions," Dr Gergis said.

But now our natural variability was playing out on the background of a warmer climate.

"We're starting to see the changing nature of Australian droughts. Our droughts are getting hotter as the planet continues to warm," she said.

This background warming has been documented in Australia and was predicted to continue, which was not good for future droughts.

"As Australia continues to warm, it is going to cause an exacerbation of the drying, which is going to make our droughts worse," Dr Gergis said.

In the shorter term, the spring outlook is not suggesting there is relief in sight for either rainfall or temperatures over the next few months.

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