It feels like winter in the South Island this morning following a stormy afternoon and evening yesterday.

Christchurch dropped 12 degrees in just 14 minutes as the southerly roared into town just after 5pm.

Kaikoura had severe gales with winds averaging 90km/h and gusting 130km/h around 9pm last night.

In the deep south this morning it’s a cold, windy and showery start.  Dunedin and Queenstown have just 5 degrees with showers and winds gusting over 50km/h.  Invercargill is on 6 with similar conditions, with the coldest spot being the small Southland town of Lumsden, on 4 degrees with heavy showers.

With these temperatures snow will be falling to low levels on the ranges around Southland and Otago says weatherwatch.co.nz

In the lower North Island winds have eased significantly this morning after gusts last night over 110km/h in some areas.  The Auckland region is likely to be windier today with near gale force winds already being reported on the Manukau Heads and the Hauraki Gulf – however much lighter winds are currently over the city.

Today will be a showery, cold, day for regions south of Wellington with showery, cooler, weather heading north.