It’s been surprisingly frosty over some parts of the country overnight however cloud, wind and rain is set to move across much of the nation today or tonight.

Temperatures have dipped just below freezing in Napier and Invercargill and Hamilton,Rotorua,Whakatane and Timaru are feeling the crunch with a temperature of zero first thing.Warmest areas have gone to Whangarei which is already in the teens and in the south, Nelson and Westport are around twelve degrees.

Cloud and some rain has moved over western areas of the Mainland overnight and these unsettled conditions are likely to become more widespread across the country throughout the day and also affect eastern districts from time to time but places such as Gisborne, Napier and Hastings might not see anything until this evening.

Winds and temperatures have also been on the rise inside the last few hours and it was only this time yesterday when morning frosts were recorded in many places and quite severe in central and southern districts with the coldest and remotest regions seeing the mercury top minus ten degrees.

This incoming system is set to bring rain, wind and some warmth but could also deliver some localised downpours and thunderstorms in the mix.

“The cold in the south is moving away a little this week after some very low temperatures in places” says weather analyst Richard Green” but it’s the northern areas that will see more warmth however the rain is set to move in later this morning or closer to midday”.

WeatherWatch.co.nz believes the rain at times today could make driving conditions challenging in northern and western areas and care is advised especially with following distances.”When these downpous occur visibility can be drastically reduced and often the heaviest falls can surprise and with wintry conditions it can certainly be very gloomy”

Later in the week a southerly change is set to sweep up the Mainland however early indications are showing that snow amounts and levels aren’t expected to be excessive.

We’ll continue to keep an eye on the situation and if anything changes we’ll let you know the latest information.

WeatherWatch.co.nz