It’s been a cold start across the country today with temperatures dropping well below zero in the South Island.  At 7am Dunedin was at -4, with -3 in Queenstown and Invercargill and -2 in Wanaka, Gore and Lumsden.

In the North Island and it’s 7 in Auckland, Wellington and Whangarei with 5 in Taupo at 7am.

But the day is expected to be relatively sunny and warm for many places.  Rain and showers are lingering around central New Zealand with a rain band roughly lying between Kaikoura and southern Hawkes Bay.  A southerly is currently pushing rain straight in to Wellington.

The rain is being pushed in by a low pressure system off the east coast but it should ease today as that low moves away.

Tomorrow a new low in the Tasman Sea will move in bringing cloud and nor’easters to northern New Zealand.   Sunday should be dry for many areas but showers or patchy rain are likely to develop late in the day or evening north of Auckland. 

We’ll be tracking the rain bands and updating you if anything changes.