Thanks to storm activity in the region Canberra can expect a much cooler weekend before temperatures rise again from Tuesday.
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A large front is currently moving through NSW and will hit Canberra early on Saturday afternoon.
This is bringing cool air to the region and the ACT and most of NSW are experiencing temperatures well below average.
Canberra's average January maximum temperature is 28 degrees.
On Sunday it will reach a maximum of 22 degrees, six degrees below average, something that Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Rob Taggart said only occurred three times on average during the month.
Canberra might receive another storm on Saturday night however it is unlikely to bring the damaging winds that parts of the ACT experienced on Friday.
This rainfall is a major reason for the cooler temperatures this weekend. Mr Taggart described the function of cooling caused by rainfall as an evaporative cooling mechanism very similar to the body cooling itself by sweating.
Looking ahead, the forecast is for Canberra to remain dry throughout the rest of the week.
Despite the cooler temperatures this weekend Canberra seems destined to record another warmer than average summer, Mr Taggart said. Last summer was the third warmest on record for Canberra.
The average temperature so far this month has been 32.2 degrees, four degrees warmer than the typical January average.
Canberra reaches 35 degrees three times throughout January on average, however so far this month the ACT has hit 35 or more three times already.
Canberra hit the mark on January 6, 7 and 12, with January 7 reaching 40.6 degrees, only 1 degree off the record maximum.
Mr Taggart said considering Canberra had already met its quota 13 days into the month, it was shaping up to be a hotter than normal January.
He added the statistics consistently showed a warming trend in line with the effects of global warming experienced more broadly and that records for hot weather were being broken far more frequently than for minimum temperatures.
After Sunday's 22 degrees it will warm up to 27 on Monday before the heat kicks back in with 30 degrees on Tuesday followed by 33 degrees on Wednesday.
The ACT SES reported receiving 178 calls for assistance after Friday's storm activity.
