It was the third equal-driest September on record at the Mudgee Airport Weather Station, equaling the parched 2015 total, but still wetter than 1994 (1.8mm) and 2007 (0.8mm).

However, most shocking is the contrast with September last year when close to 200mm fell.

The final figure came in at 197.4mm and actually passed the previous highest September amount at the weather station (113.6mm set back in 2005) at the exact halfway point of the month.

To put that figure in perspective; it’s more than two thirds of the rainfall received for 2017 so far (269.8mm).

Saturday the 23^rd 2017 was the hottest September day ever recorded at the Mudgee weather station with a peak of 32.5°C passing the old benchmark by nearly two degrees.

Days later on Wednesday the top of 30.6°C also passed the previous record.

The Nullo Mountain weather station in the Rylstone/Kandos area saw its driest ever September with just 2mm of rain captured – a mere fraction of the previous record of 9.6mm in 2003.

The only other town from across central and western NSW as dry was Nyngan.

Saturday the 23^rd was also a record temp at 26.4°C, which was followed by the hottest ever September overnight temperature recorded at the location with 18.4°C.

Other parts of Australia experienced their driest ever September; not a single drop fell in Darwin; Sydney’s 0.2mm was the least in 159 years of record keeping; and Brisbane saw only 6mm.

Southern cities fared significantly better, with Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Melbourne all picking up around 90 percent of their long term average.

The Bureau of Meteorology's monthly and seasonal climate outlooks suggest October is likely to be wetter than average for eastern parts of the country with warmer than average daytime temperatures possible.