Updated 2:12pm — It gets warmer before it gets colder, as mild north to north west winds push temperatures up ahead of another wintry change.

Parts of Christchurch are this morning 20 degrees warmer on where they were at the weekend as frosty weather melts away to a windy, warm, nor’wester. The windy weather will head north today with coastal gales in a number of regions and blustery conditions elsewhere.

The cold change arrives in the south later today then spreads northwards over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and doesn’t ease for some until Sunday. This is longer lasting than the more intense polar blast last week.

Why is Tuesday so mild for mid winter? It's all about the sub-tropics!

But check out #WarmVsCold as the much colder Southern Ocean airflow heads towards #NewZealand. In fact, it's already starting to gradually arrive in #Southland.

Live Temperatures: https://t.co/sgHFGtJu0R pic.twitter.com/1zTyr65vET

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) July 6, 2021

More wintry weather on the way for #NewZealand.

News, video and maps explaining it all can be found here https://t.co/Pm2OWgtJRf and in the news section of our free App 'WeatherWatchNZ'. pic.twitter.com/xzZDPSL5jz

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) July 6, 2021

WIND CHILL:
Below zero in a number of places. Dunedin is forecast to have a wind chill below zero developing overnight tonight and then not rising above 0C until Sunday… that’s four full days with a windchill below zero in exposed places. Even at best the milder more sheltered areas will still be hovering around 0C or +1C in the wind.

For newborn lambs inland and higher elevation the windchill will be even lower and could again linger for not just one day, but a number of days.

You can check your wind chill using the TEMPS tab at the top of www.RuralWeather.co.nz – for every location in NZ, hourly, for 10 days out.

SNOW:
Snow is forecast to low levels in the South Island with flurries in Dunedin City expected and into surrounding centres like Gore, Lumsden, Queenstown, Arrowtown, Te Anau, Twizel, Tekapo, Waiouru. Areas impacted by snow are remarkably similar to the polar blast last week.

Snow accumulation isn’t huge for most low lying places, but may still make driving hazardous with 1 to 5cm possible. Higher up and the mountains will get 20cm to 80cm of snow on the summits.

GALES:
Windy weather across Tuesday as the northerly flow gets ‘squashed up’ ahead of the southerly change. Windiest weather will be in central NZ from Taranaki through Cook Strait to eastern coastal Marlborough.

Check your local forecast for more details about winds today and keep an eye on the MetService warnings page, which can now be found here at WeatherWatch.

TEMPERATURES – DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL
Another mild night (in comparison to recent nights) coming tonight, but as you can see it then gets colder over the coming nights as this Southern Ocean airflow sets in.

RAINFALL:
Heavy rain on the West Coast with over 150mm possible over the next 24 hours or so. This is quite heavy and could lead to localised slips, flooding and even impact some roads and/or highways.

The most accurate rainfall forecast data in NZ can be found in your local WeatherWatch or RuralWeather forecast for any specific location.

METSERVICE WARNINGS

You can now find all official MetService Warnings LIVE on the WeatherWatch website – Click here or on the map below.