Although rain continues to tumble down over some parts of the South Island, temperatures are varying by as much as 15 degrees this morning.

Hokitika has seen some heavy falls with blustery winds overnight but still a relatively mild 15 degrees whereas Queenstown has been somewhat sheltered from the wind therefore a much colder 3 degrees.

The hotspot is Kaikoura with 18 degrees, as a warm nor’wester keeps the mercury up in the high teens and many eastern areas have remained in the teens during the wee dark hours.
Overnight minimum temperatures in northern and eastern areas of the mainland have been more like daytime highs for this time of year and it’s just over 6 weeks until the shortest day, however it was this time last year when one of the coldest Mays on record started to take hold in the south.