Winter has arrived: Most of New Zealand experiences coldest day of the year

Monday, 3 June 2019

Clear skies overnight for most of New Zealand have contributed to the coldest morning of the year so far.

MetService said a mild May had made the large drop in temperature a shock to the system, with some parts of the country dropping below zero.

Meteorologist Kyle Lee said places in the South Island, such as Mt Cook and Tekapo, reached -7C early on Monday morning.

Blenheim and Alexander reached -4C, Taupō and Timaru reached -3C and Queenstown reached -2C, Lee said.

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Although not the coldest, Aucklanders woke to a brisk morning with the temperature getting down to 4C overnight.

At its coldest, Wellington reached 5C.

Lee said winter had definitely arrived and the combination of bad weather the country experienced on Friday and Saturday had left a bitter coldness.

The temperatures had become average for parts of the country for this time of year, but because of how mild May was, it has come as a 'shock to the system' for most, he said.

On Sunday, Lee said the working week ahead was set to be another 'turbulent' one.

Last week brought unstable westerly winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms with hail affecting much of the country.

'The west coast of the South Island was inundated with rain most of the week with totals exceeding the 500mm mark for a few stations over the course of the week or just a few days.

'The severe weather continued as another significant weather system took aim at the country just in time for winter. Plenty of heavy rain, wind and snow watches and warnings were issued as a low-pressure system made its way across New Zealand on Friday and Saturday.'

A significant weather feature is expected to bring severe weather on Wednesday, Lee said.

'The nature of the system could mean more heavy rain and some more snow for parts of New Zealand, so it'll be [an] interesting week ahead.'