And with the Bureau of Meteorology figures incomplete for the period between 1853 to 1868 it could be our lowest level since records began in 1840.

Meteorologist with weatherzone Tom Hough said the rainfall figures have been recorded at the Port Macquarie Airport since 1995.

"Despite there being two years - 2009 and 2014 - with incomplete figures the amounts recorded in the remaining months is still over the 514mm recorded for the total 12 month period for 2019," he said.

"Both 2009 and 2014 are missing one month's data.

"This would mean that 2019 was the driest year on record for that time period."

Mr Hough said rainfall data prior to 1995 was recorded at Hill Street while records were also kept at the DMR site.

The figures for Port Macquarie were mirrored with the national average rainfall total in 2019 of just 277mm, the lowest since consistent national records began in 1900.

The previous record low was 314 mm set during the Federation drought in 1902.

The national figures were released on Thursday by the BOM as part of its annual climate statement 2019.

The statement is the BOM's official summary of the previous year and includes information on temperature, rainfall and significant weather.

Australia's mean temperature in 2019 was 1.52 °C above average, making it the warmest on record since consistent national temperature records began in 1910 and surpassing the previous record of 1.33 °C above average set in 2013.

Bureau of Meteorology head of climate monitoring Dr Karl Braganza said the record warm and dry year was one of the key factors influencing recent and current fire conditions in large parts of the country.

"2019 was consistently warm, but it was book-ended by periods of extreme heat," Dr Braganza said.

"January last year was the warmest month Australia has ever recorded, while just a few weeks ago in December, we saw the Australia-wide record hottest daily average maximum temperature broken multiple days in a row.

"At the same time, rainfall deficiencies across large parts of eastern Australia have continued to increase, unfortunately exacerbating both drought conditions and the current bushfires."

Dr Braganza said there were multiple factors influencing Australia's weather patterns in 2019.

"The other key factor at play is that Australia's climate has warmed by more than a degree since 1910, which means very warm years like 2019 are now more likely to occur, while the trend in recent decades has been for drier winter and spring seasons in the south."

In recent weeks, some of the key drivers of the recent warm and dry patterns over Australia have eased.

As a result, rainfall for the coming months is expected to be average to below average in the east, while wetter than average conditions are possible for much of Western Australia and South Australia.

However, temperatures are likely to remain warmer than average over the rest of summer.

Mr Hough said Port Macquarie could expect possible showers on Thursday (January 9) with further showers predicted for Saturday and Sunday.

"It looks likely to be largely dry through next week but there is some modelling uncertainty at this stage," he added.

Also making news:

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.