A cold front last night raced up the South Island dramatically dropping temperatures and dusting the ranges with snow. The front zipped through and for many Friday isn’t too bad – in fact some eastern areas may even notice a warmer westerly wind later on…but don’t be fooled, this is what happens before a cold front arrives.

Tonight and across Saturday the main Antarctic blast races northwards. While it’s showery in Southland today (and wintry) the cold blast tonight will be even colder and may drag snow levels down even lower.

Across Saturday all of New Zealand will be affected by the colder air, but some regions may be quite sunny thanks to the blocking nature of our ranges/mountains.

Dunedin may reach a high of 5 or 6 on Saturday but for exposed areas the air temperature may hover around just 2 or 3 degrees with wind chills below zero for much of the day.

Cold is the main theme from this front – snow will also be heavier at higher elevations in both islands, affecting highways tonight or Saturday.

Then by Sunday it eases – with light winds on Monday and warmer winds returning by Tuesday.

Like last night, WeatherWatch.co.nz will bring you special updates (especially via our Twitter and Facebook pages). You can view our latest Tweets on the right hand side of our homepage too.

Midnight tonight – the main Antarctic blast arrives and races northwards.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz