Fine weather was forecast through the day with a high of 14C - more or less the same conditions are expected on Monday.
Similar fine weather was forecast across most of the country on Sunday, with chilly starts in places without cloud cover.
The coldest of the main centres overnight was expected to be Hamilton on -2C, and Taumarunui and Taupō at -3C.
The ridge of high pressure was expected to dominate the country to early Tuesday when an active front approached from the Tasman Sea.
The front should move east across New Zealand on Wednesday, bringing a period of heavy rain and strong northeasterlies to many places.
There was a low chance of a heavy rain warning for Northland, northern parts of Auckland including Great Barrier Island, and Coromandel Peninsula could see some heavy rain Wednesday, but moderate for Bay of Plenty.
Rain and severe gale northeasterlies could also strike the Marlborough Sounds including the Richmond Range, Nelson, Buller, Westland and northern Fiordland on Wednesday.