Summer's here with a high of 31°C in Hanmer Springs and temperatures well into the 20s across the rest of the country.

MetService said the lowest temperature today was 20° at Waiouru, while the Canterbury towns of Darfield, Cheviot and Waipara all reached 30°.

The highest recorded temperature around Aotearoa today was 31°C measured at Hanmer Springs, while the lowest maximum temperature was 20°C at Waiouru. ^AB pic.twitter.com/1F9oeygyjU — MetService (@MetService) December 3, 2017

People took to the water and Horizons Regional Council tweeted it had been a cracker of a weekend at Foxton Beach.

MetService meteorologist Ciaran Doolin said a ridge of high pressure should bring clear and hot conditions well into next week.

What a cracker of a weekend it’s been to #swiminourregion. These pictures are from Foxton Beach, which swim spots have you been to? pic.twitter.com/ObWd2Cp3QO — Horizons RC (@HorizonsRC) December 3, 2017

He said the ridge could also bring thunderstorms but in less populated areas of the central North Island.

"There are a couple other weather systems trying to push this ridge out but it's persistent so we should see good temperatures well into next week."

Even hotter day tomorrow. Make sure to keep sunscreen handy! ^CD pic.twitter.com/NkdmjUod2Z — MetService (@MetService) December 3, 2017

Mr Doolin said temperatures yesterday and forecast for this week were higher than usual for the start of the summer - Christchurch had 30° yesterday, last year's summer average was just 21°.

MetService warned it would be even hotter tomorrow so people should keep the sunscreen handy.

Meanwhile Niwa said that soil moisture levels across New Zealand were now below or considerably below what was normal at this time of year.