Victoria has endured its driest September in more than 100 years, with Melbourne receiving just one-third of its usual rainfall.

The Bureau of Meteorology on Monday said it was the driest September since 1914, or the second driest overall.

But it wasn’t just Victoria waiting for rain. Australia had its driest September on record as farmers down the east coast battle drought.

Dry conditions also brought forward the bushfire season for parts of the country.

Melbourne had just 16.44mm for the month, or 35 per cent of the average at the airport station.

Victoria received 34 per cent its normal September rains, meaning the state has now gone nine consecutive months of below-average rainfall.

Mildura Airport recorded a total of just 0.8mm for the entire month, about 3 per cent of normal.

Clear skies and dry soils meant overnight temperatures were cooler than average, while daytime temperatures were normal or slightly warm.

It was the driest September in Victoria since 1914. Photo: BOM

Melbourne had a mean maximum of 17.2 degrees, 0.7 above average at Olympic Park.

The minimum mean was 5.7 degrees in Melbourne, or 1.4 below average.

The city’s hottest day was 24.2 degrees on September 27.

Australia

It was Australia’s driest September on record, mostly as a result of below-average rain in the south of the country.

It was the driest September in Australia overall on record. Photo: BOM

Western Australia had its third driest September, though parts of the Kimberley and the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf had above-average rain.

It was the fourth driest September on record for South Australia.

Rainfall was below average in most of Queensland, but near average in the south-east to central coast.

It was the driest on record for parts of New South Wales, but the north-east had near average or above-average rain.

Areas around Broken Hill had their lowest September rainfall on record, with some areas receiving no rain at all.

The wettest day in the country was at Ballina Airport, where 100mm fell on September 5. Ballina had more than four times its September average.

Rainfall was also below average in Northern Territory, but south-west parts of the NT’s Top End had much more rain than average.

Total rainfall was lowest on record for September in parts of Tasmania.

The monthly data comes as NSW and Queensland farmers battle drought.

The October to December climate outlook, released by BOM on Thursday, said eastern and southern Australia was likely to remain drier than average.

That would mean “a low chance of recovery for drought-affected areas of eastern Australia”, BOM said.

The quarter is expected to be warmer than average for both minimums and maximums for most of the country.

The NSW Rural Fire Service declared August 1 as the start of the summer bushfire season in 10 council areas after “prevailing dry conditions”.