Nor’ westers have hit parts of the country overnight and this morning and are gusting in excess of gale force in a number of areas.

Wellington is seeing a northerly gusting to 80 kph, Dunedin is approaching 70 kph with Christchurch experiencing similar conditions over parts of the city.Invercargill, Gore and Wanaka are also seeing gusts peak above 60-70 kph.The strongest gusts are in excess of 130kph in Castlepoint with winds expected to be howling there most of the day.

With the arrival of the strong winds, temperatures have pushed up this morning in eastern areas.
Dunedin and Christchurch are currently on 18 degrees and if the sun shines today, temperatures should peak in the mid to possibly high 20s.

A southerly change later in the day should see those temperatures take a dive in the south and revert to ‘near normal’ if not a little cool by tonight.