A high-pressure system "as big as Australia" will bring Melbourne's warmest patch of weather in more than five months, while most of the country is likely to go for a week with little rain.
Melbourne's maximum temperature reached 20 degrees on Friday, the first of four relatively mild days for the city, including tops of 21 on Saturday before two days of 24 on Sunday and Monday, according to updated forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology. 
"It's been quite chilly in Melbourne for a long period, so this warm spell will be welcomed," Rob Sharpe, a meteorologist with Weatherzone said.
The most recent day of 24 degrees or warmer fell in mid-autumn, on   April 15, and the most recent run of four days of comparable warmth started at the end of   March.
The warm days and mild nights - minimums should range from 12-16 degrees - are the result of a dominant high-pressure system that's "about as big as Australia" and is now directing very dry and warm winds from north-western Australia into the country's south-east, Anthony Duke, a fellow Weatherzone meteorologist, said.
With the northern dry season well into its second half, that region is "as dry as it's going to be", he said.
Victoria has taken longer to shake off winter than some regions further north. Melbourne would typically record its first day with a top of 20 degrees in the warming season by   August 30 and so will be almost two weeks late this year, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's long-term data. 
Cooler conditions, though, will return from Tuesday, and it may be more than another week before temperatures climb back into the low 20s, Mr Sharpe said.
Dry country
The large high pressure system is now moving into the Tasman Sea but will leave very stable conditions behind for much of the country. 
Almost all of Australia will be dry on Friday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's forecast:
The dry spell, while welcomed by football crowds and early-season cricketers alike, won't be well received by farming communities needing spring rain.
While NSW had reasonable winter falls in many regions, large parts of Victoria and Queensland again missed out.
The coming week should also be dry for most of the nation, according to the eight-day rainfall outlook:
The bureau this week released its streamflow (or river level) forecasts for the   September-  November period and predicted 98 of the 132 locations it tracks across the country can expect relatively low flows during spring.
Mr Sharpe said the large high pressure system had helped block a series of fronts reaching the south-east but the next one to come through Victoria starting Monday will bring showers and possible thunderstorms.
"These storms might be a bit more spring-like, and there could be a fair bit of lightning across central Victoria on Monday as [the front] moves across to the east overnight," Mr Sharpe said.
The winter was Victoria's coldest for maximum temperatures since 1989, with the mercury about 0.4 degrees below average. Most of the rest of the country was warmer than average:
It was also a relatively dry winter, with average rainfall the lowest since 2006, or about a quarter below average, the bureau said.
Several sites had their lowest rainfall since 1982, and water storages ended   August at 60 per cent capacity, down from about 83 per cent a year earlier, according to bureau figures.
Earlier this week, the big high pressure system brought to Perth its warmest day on record for this early in the warming season, with 32.1 degrees reached on Wednesday.
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