Wet winter makes for a spectacular spring in Canberra

Canberra's wettest winter in a decade has made for a spectacular start to the season.

Christine Ryan, from the Horticultural Society of Canberra, said the wattle and magnolia blossoms have been in full bloomfor a few weeks now and clumps of daffodils and jonquils have sprung to life.

"We were saying this morning August must think it has one day to go, but with all the rain we've had this spring should be a good one," she said.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting warmer spring nights for most of the country, including the ACT.

While El Nino weather conditions usually result in above average temperatures during the day and cooler temperatures at night, Weatherzone meteorologist Tristan Meyers said warmer sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean have turned the phenomenon on its head.

"The clouds generated are trapping heat during the night and making for cooler days," Mr Meyers said.

Even though the temperature will dip down to minus 3 degrees on Wednesday, you can expect a comparatively balmy low of 4 degrees on Thursday and an equally moderate low of 3 degrees on Friday.

Although they won't be taking advantage of the milder evenings, Maureen and Phil Adam, of Curtin, said they're certainly enjoying the spring sunshine during the day.

Mrs Adam said her husband was recovering from a cataract operation, which made the avenues of trees bursting into bloom an especially beautiful sight.

Meanwhile, Canberrans have been urged to get their properties ready for warmer weather, as forecasts pointed to a busy bushfire season.

Moist soils across the ACT would spark vigorous grass growth that could boost the chance of bushfires after a dry spring, the southern Australia seasonal bushfire outlook for 2015-16 showed.

ACT Rural Fire Service chief officer Andrew Stark said El Nino conditions and the prospect of a long, hot and dry summer had prompted firefighters to begin preparations early this year.

However, late winter rainfalls had eased the prospect of an early start to the bushfire season.

"It's time for the community to start thinking about how they can get ready for the season.

"That means making sure they have a bushfire survival plan in place and doing some of those extra chores around their house or property."