Spring 2016 is underway across New Zealand but many regions could be forgiven for thinking it was the end of the season and not the beginning.

Across the country high pressure dominates bringing light winds and a mix of sunny or fairly sunny skies.

It was chilly this morning thanks to the large high – Auckland and Northland were both down to about 5 degrees, but will warm up to the late teens and maybe even 20 degrees in Northland this afternoon.

It’s these high temperatures that are set to be a surprise to some – with eastern parts of the North Island expected to reach into the mid 20s during Friday and/or Saturday.

Parts of the eastern South Island will also climb into the 20s on Friday as warmer winds and air move in.

WeatherWatch.co.nz usually defines Spring as “winter gradually fading away and summer slowly coming in” but when you look at the 10-day forecast, even for our coldest regions, it doesn’t look very wintry.

For example, Invercargill has highs of 12 to 15 degrees most days and overnight lows well away from freezing.

Queenstown has double digit highs every day and no overnight lows below zero in the next 10 days.

For some areas, the next 10 days may not especially warm, but it’s looking likely to be a little bit warmer than average.

We’d never rule out the chances of another snow storm or major frost event over the next two months – but with every week now we’re gaining an additional 20 minutes of daylight, so that means things are warming up and winter is definitely melting away.

– 8:45am temp map, showing high pressure dominating both sides of the North Island / Wundermap

– WeatherWatch.co.nz