UPDATED 7:23pm — A cold change is this evening pouncing on the lower South Island – and is now headed towards the rest of New Zealand.

As hot nor’westers blow across Canterbury the temperature in Invercargill has dropped to just 8 degrees this hour, down from 20 degrees earlier today. 

Gore and Lumsden share just 7 degrees as of 7pm.

The cold change is beginning to move into South Canterbury after reaching Dunedin late this afternoon/early evening.  At 7pm Dunedin had just 9 degrees while much of Canterbury has 21.

Overnight we’ll see the cold front cross Canterbury then into the lower North Island Friday morning , finally passing over Auckland and Northland during Friday afternoon.

Ahead of the cold change is a hot nor’wester – the North Island hit 30 degrees officially today in Napier and Hastings while Christchurch reached 29 under similar summer conditions.

Those strong winds have slammed Wellington today with gale force winds reaching 120km/h in the city itself.

Friday will be a very different story in Christchurch, with the temperature expected to only reach 17 degrees at its hottest – but skies clearing to a mostly sunny day.

Despite the brief cold snap most places should feel summer warmth again over the weekend predicts WeatherWatch.co.nz – but dress up warm if you’re heading out on Saturday night, with temperatures dipping to single digits or low double digits in a number of places.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz

How cold  is it where you are?  Or is it hot and windy?  Post your observations below!