Australia weather: after hottest spring on record, a very warm and humid start to summer forecast

Warm weather will give way to a day of rainfall and thunderstorms on Tuesday across parts of southern and eastern Australia, the BoM says. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Australia recorded its hottest spring on record with mean temperatures more than 2C above the long-term average.

It comes as large parts of the country awaited maximum temperatures of between 4C and 8C above average on the second day of summer, with heat and humidity set to continue throughout the week.