Bitterly cold weather is setting in across New Zealand as the predicted Antarctic blast arrives.

Temperatures are continuing to fall across the nation with Wellington dropping to 3.7 degrees an hour ago.   Head weather analyst Philip Duncan says the wind chill is extremely cold.  “The wind chill, or “feels like” temperature, is currently -5 in Wellington.  In Christchurch the air temperature was just 2 at 12 noon with a wind chill of -6 degrees”.

Kaikoura and Oamaru have just 3 degrees with Dunedin on 4 this hour.

At 1pm temperatures had lifted a degree or two however with passing showers the mercury was dropping by the same amount.

As of 1pm it was 6.6 in Paraparaumu and New Plymouth had dropped to 7.

Waiouru has zero degrees with snow flurries in the area.

Auckand was still mild on 14 however cloud is now thickening and southerlies strengthening.  Temperatures in the upper North Island are predicted to fall several degrees in the following hours.