Your weather: New Zealand wakes up to a frosty spring day, but it won’t last

It has been a chilly start to the day for many, with unusually cold spring temperatures in parts of New Zealand very negative.

Clear skies and light winds created some particularly icy conditions in the heart of the South Island, with Christchurch the coldest of the major hubs at -4.6C at 6am.

In the most remote locations, Nelson Lakes hit -7C, Mt Cook Village dropped to -5C and Culverden -4.9C.

Meanwhile, the North Island was a bit warmer, with the coolest place being Taupō at -3.5C, followed by Desert Rd at -2.6C.

Auckland was significantly warmer, but still at 4 ° C, more than half the average September low.

However, the good news is that practically everyone should turn out on a stunning Saturday, which means those who decided to hit the slopes are going to love it.

“Most places have a really nice day, especially on the North Island,” said MetService meteorologist Tam Peltzer.

In Auckland, there would only be some cloudy periods and rain in the morning before clearing for a good day and a high of 13C.

Similar conditions were forecast for most, with only a few clouds in the western areas moving at night.

On the South Island, most places had a good day, once it warmed up, with only a little cloud and isolated rains in the west in the late afternoon.

Much of the same was forecast for Sunday, except for the lower part of the South Island, where a front, preceded by strong northwest winds, will arrive in the morning, bringing gusts of heavy rain to the west, which will last until the early hours. Wednesday and will fall as snow. the Alps.

Wednesday looked particularly poor, with strong westerly winds tending to the southwest and snow showers affecting the higher roads.

Rains could reach warning levels over Fiordland, South Westland and the Otago Headwaters during Sunday and Monday, and possibly Tuesday.

Further north, there was a moderate risk of rain warning levels over the rest of Westland, Canterbury Headwaters and Buller on Monday and Tuesday.

There was also potential for hurricane force winds in the exposed parts of Southland, Fiordland Lakes, Otago and southern Canterbury Plains on Monday, and a slightly higher risk in the rest of Canterbury, Marlborough, Wellington and Wairarapa (including the Tararua district ) during Monday and Tuesday.

Auckland could see some rain starting Tuesday, bringing some more relief from the water crisis with the city’s dams still 22% below average for this time of year.

However, residents have continued to exceed requested savings, with an average water use over the past week of 382 million liters per day (MLD), well below the 405MLD target.