Australia has come through its second-warmest August on record, the Bureau of Meteorology has said.
The average maximum temperature in August was 17.2 degrees, while high temperature days last month averaged about 16.6 degrees.
Senior climatologist Hugh McDowell said the figures didn't really signal anything of note about spring.
"We haven't seen the hottest August day on record. That was [about] 24 degrees, quite a while ago," he said.
While damaging wind-warnings managed to eclipse the warm weather, the climatologist said temperatures could drop and the ACT's early fake spring could be short-lived.
"It could go cool again. [The forecast] says that it's been a very warm end to winter after quite a cool start to to the season," Mr McDowell said.
"The spring forecast does show us that we're likely to be above the long-term median on both maximum and minimum temperatures."
This means it is expected to be significantly warmer towards the end of the first week of September.
Minimum temperatures do not appear to be dropping under 5 degrees while maximum temperatures are expected to reach 24 degrees on Friday.
Strong winds of up to 35kmh are expected to accompany sunny days until the weekend.
Mr McDowell also said there were a number of reasons behind a signal for wetter-than-average conditions for this spring.
"We're seeing warm and average sea surface temperatures in the Tasman Sea. That gives us a bit more heat and moisture in the atmosphere, so therefore a bit more potential for increased rainfall," he said.
He also said the Bureau was on "La Nina watch".
"We could see La Nina develop through the spring months. It's not a guarantee. La Nina watch means about a 50 per cent chance, but that is double the normal chance of seeing La Nina," the climatologist said.
"Probably going to be a bit wetter and a bit warmer than average through the spring."
Signs could start showing as soon as Saturday, September 7. There's a medium chance of light showers (1-2mm) and cloud cover for this weekend.
September to November
Statistics for Canberra showed the long-term average temperature for September was expected to hover around 18 degrees, Mr McDowell said.
He said October would be about 21 degrees, while November average temperatures were predicted to increase to about 25 degrees.
"It's likely to exceed that by a little bit. And then rainfall ... we normally see something about 180mm over the three months, with November normally being the wetter of those three months," he said.
The Bureau reported above average temperatures were between likely to very likely across the continent, especially in Tasmania.
"Parts of eastern NSW ... are likely to have maximum temperatures in the typical range for spring," its long-range forecast stated.
