Three daily records were broken at the Bellambi Point weather station during November – hottest day, warmest night and heaviest 24-hour rainfall.

Overall, average maximum and minimum temperatures across the region were mostly above the norm between September and November.

The region’s hottest day was November 20, when the mercury soared to a maximum of 39.8 degrees at Bellambi Point.

The top was almost 18 degrees warmer than the November average and pipped the previous November high of 39.4, recorded in 2009.

On the same day, Albion Park sweated through its hottest November day in 16 years when the mercury hit a scorching 41.8 degrees. The previous record was 40 degrees in 2006.

Just days later, a unseasonably-warm night saw the minimum temperature on the coast drop to just 21.8 degrees by 9am November 26.

The low was about a degree warmer than the previous record, also from 2009.

Weatherzone meteorologist Tristan Meyers said the Illawarra’s relatively hot and dry spring was “largely due to the influence of the El Niño, which generally leads to decreased rainfall in eastern Australia”.

Below-average rainfall was recorded at Albion Park for three consecutive months – just 9mm of rain was registered there during October.

Above-average falls were recorded at Bellambi Point in November, although September and October saw below-average falls. 

A storm dumped 80.8mm in the coastal rain gauge to 9am on November 15, giving the weather station its wettest 24-hour November total in 17 years of records.

The previous heaviest fall was 72mm in 2010.

Mr Meyers described the Illawarra’s November weather as a “mixed bag”, adding that Tuesday’s hot conditions were a likely sign of things to come across summer.

“We’re looking at around average rainfall for the Illawarra region and temperatures tending towards hotter than average,” he said.