Warm autumn forecast for most of Australia

After sweating through another hot and dry summer, most Australians now face a warm autumn.

Temperatures for both day and night are likely to be higher than normal for much of the country over the next three months, the Bureau of Meteorology's latest climate outlook says.

It's also likely to be wetter than normal for areas of inland Australia.

That's partly because of warmer-than-average waters around the continent.

Senior climatologist Andrew Watkins says with warm and dry conditions persisting beyond the end of summer, bushfire risks remain for the country's bottom half.

As does the possibility of cyclones in the north.

"Our temperature outlooks point towards a warmer autumn, while rainfall outlooks suggest we shouldn't bank on an early autumn break," Dr Watkins said on Thursday.

Fewer days of extreme heat meant summer felt cooler for Australians on the east coast but daytime temperatures were actually average or above, Dr Watkins said.

And while many areas also experienced a wetter-than-expected summer, parts of the country's south only had half their usual rainfall.

Perth, for example, went 61 days without a drop of rain.

"WA had one of its hottest summers on record - setting records for its latest 49-degree day and Australia's hottest February night," Dr Watkins said.

The BOM uses a special model to generate its seasonal outlooks, which vary in accuracy for different parts of the country and time of year.

WHAT'S IN LINE FOR AUSTRALIA THIS AUTUMN

* WARMER DAYS: Likely for all of southeast Australia, much of northern Australia, western and southern coastline of WA

* WARMER NIGHTS: Likely for most of Australia, except northern parts of the Top End and southeast Queensland

* WETTER THAN NORMAL: Likely for central parts of WA, central Australia, small isolated areas of the Top End and northwest NSW. Above-average rainfall likely in the Top End and near the Qld-NSW border in March.