![Surfers pick up a nice swell at Dee Why.](http://web.archive.org./web/20171231165954im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/z/i/m/z/o/image.related.wideLandscape.620x349.h0ateo.png/1514700461505.jpg)
Kicking off 2018 with a heatwave, and then cooler, damp conditions will set in
A looming heatwave in early 2018 is unlikely to augur an exceptionally hot year for Australia as a weak La Nina in the Pacific will start to tilt the odds to relatively cool and wet conditions for much of the nation.