A big range in temperatures has greeted New Zealand first thing on Easter Monday morning.

Tauranga,Gisborne and Whakatane are already close to the 20 degree mark although not necessarily is a fine and sunny day expected in all 3 centres.

At the other end of the spectrum, Dunedin Airport and Invercargill along with Queenstown, Lumsden and Manapouri are seeing freezing conditions with temperatures hovering near 0 or just scraping 1 degree. Frosts have developed in the far south after a mass of cold air began to hit the region about 24-48 hours ago with a wet southerly change. Although conditions have dried out, the remnants of that chilly air have remained.

Southeasterly winds this morning have kept the temperatures a little higher than average on the West coast and a pleasant public holiday is expected overhead.