A cool change is today working its way up the South Island and should reach Wellington late this afternoon or evening.

Temperatures behind the front have dropped to below average for this time of year.

At 9:30am the southerly change had put Southland at just 12 degrees.

For the past few days Central Otago has reached the mid 30s however this isn’t expected to happen over the next couple of days as slightly cooler air arrives.

The southerly will spread through Canterbury today and Wellington later on then weaken and die out as it heads into Hawkes Bay.  The temperature change there is expected to be minimal.