The strong westerly is returning to the South Island today and as a result Dunedin is surging into the mid-20s in the 10am hour.

Both public and private weather stations show the city quickly warming up – with Canterbury following suit.

As of 10:45am a number of weather stations in Dunedin city were in the mid-20s.

WeatherWatch.co.nz has said some parts of eastern New Zealand will reach closer to 30 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday thanks to the building west to north west flow.

By Thursday cooler weather moves up the nation with a south west change, dropping temps to more average levels.

10:45am Temp Map / Courtesy WeatherWatch.co.nz/Wunderground

– WeatherWatch.co.nz