Summer made a late arrival in Canberra yesterday afternoon, with brilliant sunshine and 27 degree heat drawing many to the capital's swimming spots.
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There should be plenty more opportunities to get out of the house these holidays, with a run of near perfect weather predicted to continue well into the new year.
![Finally summer gives reason to splash out Finally summer gives reason to splash out](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/c25581e8-a810-4e4c-ba19-6cf76ba817e1.jpg/r0_0_729_486_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
After a slightly cooler 24 degrees forecast for tomorrow, Canberra can expect hot weather next week, and those nursing hangovers on New Year's Day can do so by the pool with a 30 degree day tipped.
New Year's Eve is also looking to be ideal for those heading out on the town, with a top of 28 during the day and a tolerable low of 12 degrees, but it may get humid later next week, with the possibility of showers along with the warm weather from Tuesday to Thursday.
At Kambah pool on the Murrumbidgee River, Catherine Morgan, of Portland, Oregon, was enjoying a picnic with her Canberra-based sister and extended family under bright blue skies.
Ms Morgan, a former Canberra resident, had not been back to the capital for Christmas in five years, and as she splashed in the water with daughter Charlotte Taylor and niece Carys Garvey, nine, of California, she said that it was great to see the river returned to health after drought.
''When we lived in Canberra we loved coming here,'' she said.
''It's so much fuller and higher now, last time we were here there were sticks and debris everywhere.''
There was a sense of relief among many locals that some sunny weather had arrived before it was time to head to work, one couple at Kambah pool remarked they hadn't seen sun like it in Canberra for 14months.
But weather in the nation's capital is unlikely to hit the highs of the southern states, with Melbourne set for a scorching New Year's weekend.