Arriving a couple of hours earlier than expected an icy southerly change is currently moving into Christchurch and other Canterbury centres as we head towards Wednesday evening.

It’s been a pleasant day in the Garden City – bar a few sharp aftershocks this afternoon.  Temperatures reached 18 degrees after lunch but the southerly change has just arrived and it’s fallen 8 degrees already, to 10.

The southerly is fairly gusty but is expected to ease overnight and showers should be mostly short lived.

Dunedin has a stronger sou’wester and gusts over 70km/h.  It’s currently 9 degrees in Dunedin.

Meanwhile Invercargill has a blustery west to south west wind, not quite gale force but gusting over 80km/h.

The southerly will reach Wellington this evening then move up the North Island’s east coast during Thursday, weakening as it heads towards Gisborne.

Homepage image / File, Jeanie Griffin

– WeatherWatch.co.nz