A cold change is today moving up the South Island and will reach Wellington this evening says WeatherWatch.co.nz.

The front is bringing the first cooling off of national temperatures so far this year and the further south you are the more brutal it will be.

In Southland strong sou’westers will reach gale force at times with rain and showers right through the next few days.  The highs in Invercargill will struggle to reach the teens, if that, right through until Monday.

Strong winds, possibly gale, will also affect Dunedin and exposed parts of Canterbury with rain moving up the South Island today.

Overnight lows will drop significantly in the next 24 to 48 hours right over New Zealand, although WeatherWatch.co.nz points out this is not a wintry change.   The weather news website says by the weekend all of New Zealand will be under the first significant Autumnal change of 2010. 

However it’s unclear just how cold the change will be for Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington with the possibility of warmer west or north west winds returning fairly quickly after the southerly.

As far north as Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Whangarei temperatures are expected to barely reach 20 degrees on Saturday with overnight lows dropping even further than the past week.

MetService says there’s a possibility severe gales will affect coastal parts of the South Island over the weekend, mainly around the Catlins and Stewart Island.