A warm northerly is helping boost temperatures across much of the South Island today.

Head Weather Analyst Philip Duncan says temperatures have the reached the 20 degree mark from Southland to Marborough.  “We have 23 degrees in Blenheim right now and Timaru was at 23 last hour.  Much of Southland is on 20 degrees at the moment according to our reporting stations in Lumsden, Gore and Invercargill”.

Mr Duncan says it’s 19 in Dunedin and Queenstown and 18 in Christchurch.  In Auckland and Hamilton, where there is little wind, it’s only 17.  Wellington is on 15 despite a strong northerly.

“The warm weather over the South Island is a typical spring set up.  With a high in the north and a deep low in the south the air pressure between drops quite a bit and that creates the strong winds”. 

Duncan says winds dry out as they pass over and down the Southern Alps meaning those southern and eastern regions are warmer and drier today. 

He says similar weather is likely tomorrow.