Summer scorcher a freak event

Climate experts say Perth's sweltering summer is the latest extreme weather event to hit Australia.

The past three months - the driest and joint-hottest on record for Perth - have followed a series of record-breaking heatwaves that have hit Victoria and South Australia in the past 12 months, as well as extreme flooding that has lashed parts of Queensland and NSW.

Perth's hot weather continued yesterday, with a maximum 39.1C recorded at 3.39pm.
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Yesterday:

A divided picture of the sunburnt country
A SUMMER of extremes ended last night, in which the nation's west had its hottest and driest season on record and the east recorded its wettest summer in nearly three decades.
Perth had the lowest summer rainfall in 134 years with only 0.2mm over the three months to February.

In comparison Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart totalled average rainfall of 1269.4mm over the summer period.