Yesterday was possibly a record breaker as far as temperatures go across the upper North Island.

Snow fell as far north as the Kaimai ranges from residents in Te Aroha and from Katikati saying snow was clearly visible. Much of the Waikato shivered on just 6 degrees yesterday with most of Auckland spending the day on 7 but peaking at 9 or 10.

Head weather analyst Philip Duncan says it’s still unclear if the record books have been beaten but either way Monday’s weather was a rare event.  “We’re still trying to find out if any centres such as Auckland, Hamilton or Paeroa broke any October records.  Single digit highs are uncommon for Auckland even in the depths of winter”.

Mr Duncan says many people described yesterday as “worse than winter”.  “I’ve had people say to me this is far worse than the middle of winter and I have to agree, for the North Island at least”.

“Even if this was the middle of winter this is extreme – the temperatures experienced over northern New Zealand on Monday, the snow in Taupo on Sunday and the heavy snow on the Napier Taupo highway trapping hundreds of motorists all point to something rare”.

See yesterday’s very low maximum temperatures across the North Island here.