As summers go, you could hardly describe 2020-21 as a belter.
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Only seven days saw the mercury hit 30 degree Celcius, and the city didn't get above 33.4 degrees all season.
The season began on December 1 with a top temperature of 33.4 degrees.
However this was the only day over the 30-mark throughout the month, according to Bureau of Meteorology figures for Orange Airport.
The lowest reading for the month was 1.9 degrees on December 9.
The mean low for December was 10.2 and the mean top 23.9 degrees.
Rainfall for December was 70.2mm. January was a more summery month, with six days over 30 degrees.
The first day of the month to crack 30 was January 14 (30.6).
For five consecutive days towards the end of January Orange got a real taste of heat.
If it comes from WA it's usually dried out, but if it's come from a moist, tropical environment there is more cloud and more rainfall.
- Bureau meteorologist Helen Reid says tropical air from the north has resulted in a wet summer
On January 22 it was 30.2 degrees, January 23 (31.4), January 24 (33), January 25 (32.3) and on Australia Day, January 26, a top of 31 was reached.
The lowest temperature for January was 4.5 degrees on the 17th.
Rainfall for January was 81.6mm. The mean low was 11.5 degrees and the mean high 25.5.
Not one day between February 1 and 28 reached 30 degrees.
The highest temperature up until February 28 was 27.3C on the 22nd.
Rainfall for the month jumped to 145.6mm as of February 28, with the biggest falls on February 2 (35.8mm) and February 13 (32.6mm).
The mean low temperature for February was 11 and the mean top was 24.1.
The highest February temperature on record was 40.1 degrees on February 11, 2017.
Bureau meteorologist Helen Reid said that while the summer of 2019-20 saw air moving across "the dry continent" from Western Australia to the east, in the summer of 2020-21 the air was more likely to be flowing from Queensland.
"If it comes from WA it's usually dried out, but if it's come from a moist, tropical environment there is more cloud and more rainfall," she said.
When compared to last year, the autumn of 2021 is expected to feature cooler days and warmer nights, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The forecast through next week is for top temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s.
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