If you noticed a slightly more orange hue to the sky this morning it was likely to be courtesy of a 2000km-long dust cloud from across the ditch.
The enormous wall of dust, which has swept over New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, had been picked up in a front and was making its way over the Tasman Sea towards our shores.
MetService has reported the dust was visible from satellite imagery and would reach western parts of the country tomorrow.
The cloud was estimated to be over the Tasman Sea yesterday, but Meteorologist Micky Malivuk said it was impossible to tell until daybreak
In this visible image we see large areas of dust (the hazy brown areas over northwest New South Wales) picked up by strong northwest winds ahead of a cold front. As the front moves over NZ Thursday western parts of the South Island may be affected and Central NZ on Friday.^AB pic.twitter.com/9zMHfQ8wzi
— MetService (@MetService) February 13, 2019
The cloud's size would likely still be in the 1000-2000km range, he said.
Hot temperatures
It was not just the dust resembling Australia today though, with some hot temperatures also to be felt across most of the country.
"A lot of places in the North Island will reach 30C today, as well as the top of the South Island," Malivuk said.
"That warm weather is being driven by a high pressure system, along with light winds and clear skies."
Rotorua reached 31.4˚C today, the town's equal-2nd highest temperature since at least 1962 🌡️
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) February 13, 2019
It was a tie with the max temp from 29th Jan, so just last month! pic.twitter.com/1RyDxgJp16
Auckland was in for a fine day, with a high of 28C.
Hamilton looked the pick of the northern bunch with a high of 31C, while Christchurch was looking to top them all with a forecast high of 32C.
The dust-embedded front would be mostly affecting Fiordland, bringing rain this morning, and making its way north to Buller by this evening.
It would weaken as it moved north, however, and fire-stricken Nelson would only see a small amount of rain early tomorrow morning.
⚠️ Tropical #CycloneOma has formed northwest of Vanuatu.
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) February 12, 2019
This storm is expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds, and rough seas to northern Vanuatu over the coming days while strengthening. pic.twitter.com/was0PcBfD6
Tomorrow and into the weekend temperatures will drop several degrees in most places as a cooler front makes its way up the country.
However, most places will remain in the mid 20s, as a ridge of high is expected to bring settled weather to much of the country from Friday to Monday.
While fronts could move east over the far south of the South Island, bringing periods of strong westerlies, it's unlikely these would be severe.
Tropical Cyclone Oma strengthens
To the north of New Zealand, Tropical Cyclone Oma has been upgraded to a Category 2 system by Vanuatu's Meteorological Service.
#Vanuatu Red Cross is helping families on Motalava Island, Torba Province, evacuate to safe buildings as #CycloneOma moves closer to the islands. pic.twitter.com/6bQDVAMDmn
— Hanna Butler (@hannarosebutler) February 13, 2019
At 4am (NZ time) the cyclone was 235km west/northwest of Santo, and 310km west of Sola. Sustained winds at the centre were reaching 95km/h.
The storm was expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds, and rough seas to northern Vanuatu over the coming days.
MetService said the system was forecast to move southwest and away from Vanuatu on Friday.