Cantabrians were struggling to sleep last night as very warm nor’ westers kept temperatures up in the mid 20s past midnight.

24 degrees was the reading at Christchurch gardens at 4am which is very close to an all time record for a temperature reading during March in the wee small hours of the morning.

Once dawn broke, the mercury slipped a couple of degrees as high cloud and a gusty northerly prevailed over the city.

Wellingtonians haven’t been left out of the loop in regards to wind either this morning with some big gusts rumbling through the capital and gusts may increase further as the front approaches the central part of the country later today and overnight.