Hot chips back at Dickson pool for last blast of summer

Canberra is expected to reach a of 34 degrees on Thursday on the last day of summer and 33 degrees on Friday, the first day of autumn.

Thursday's forecast top temperature of 34 degrees is about six degrees higher than the February average maximum temperature of 27.9 degrees.

Friday's predicted high is eight degrees above the March average maximum temperature of 25 degrees.

If Thursday does reach 34 degrees, it will be the hottest day since December 9 last year, when the mercury reached 34.8 degrees.

The record maximum temperature for February in Canberra is 42.7 degrees, which occurred on February 1, 2020, in the midst of the Black Summer bushfires.

Hot chips might not cool anyone but they always go down a treat after a dunk in the pool.

The new operator of the Dickson Aquatic Centre, Belgravia Leisure, listened to the will of its patrons who were missing the old chip cooker run by the previous operators.

The hot chips returned this week to patrons - just in time.

The Dickson pool is due to close for the season on Sunday, March 24.

"It has been a busy summer with nearly 15,000 attendances over January and 29 school carnivals booked over February and March," a spokeswoman said of the season at Dickson pool.

Belgravia Leisure also operates, on behalf of the ACT government, the outdoor Civic pool which is due to close for the colder months on Sunday, March 31. The indoor pools at Civic, Stromlo, Gungahlin and Tuggeranong are also operated by Belgravia and remain open year-round.

The Geocon-owned Phillip pool is also due to close on March 24 for the season.

The Bureau of Meteorology's senior meteorologist Jordan Notara said the outlook into March was for warmer-than-average conditions.

He said at this time of year, storms were the main provider of rain.