Weather: Auckland experiences coldest night; snowfall warnings for Southern regions

It's a chilly start to the day after temperatures in Auckland fell to 1C overnight, while frost in parts of both the North and South Islands have prompted hours-long road snowfall warnings.

NIWA weather tweeted this morning that Auckland's Western Springs suburb hit its coldest minimum temperature of the year last night, dipping down to 1.8C.

MetService's lead meteorologist Karl Loots said the low temperatures overnight were the lowest recorded for most stations in Auckland this year.

"This is somewhat unusual.

"Generally NZ had a mild spring and usually we'd expect to see the coldest temperatures fall during the winter months rather than in spring. (Even if we are just a few days into spring)."

Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland (Western Springs) had its coldest minimum temperature of the year last night, dipping down to 1.8˚C 🐧 pic.twitter.com/d3R8I0fKtu

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) September 6, 2022

In terms of other cold regions on the North Island, Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay stand out, Loots said.

MetService has predicted it would be a mostly dry but chilly Wednesday.

Meteorologist John Law said the day was looking like a "pretty dry story", with the exception of some parts of the country getting slight showers.

"A fine day, with a cold-looking night to come."

Northland to Waikato, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty are partly cloudy, while rainfall is expected to come during the day.

Similarly, Waitomo to Horowhenua, including Taumarunui, Taupo and Taihape, remain partly cloudy.

People in Gisborne to Wairarapa, Wellington and the Kapiti Coast are forecast for a fine day apart from expected showers for Hawke's Bay and the Tararua District later in the afternoon.

People in Nelson and Marlborough would have a fine day.

Here are the observed minimum temperatures until 7am this morning. A frosty night for many places.

Stay up to date with the latest forecast for your area here:https://t.co/Yjbq0jgaoz pic.twitter.com/0SGQk4x0iC

— MetService (@MetService) September 6, 2022

Canterbury and Otago could see cloud increasing this morning and a few showers spreading from the south. Snow will be lowering to around 900 metres.

Southland and Fiordland experience showers turning to rain for sometime this morning but these will ease in the afternoon.

It's similar in Buller and Westland, which could experience slight showers as clouds develop in Westland this afternoon.

The Chatham Islands are partly cloudy, with a chance of slight showers.

The southern-most parts of the country could experience really cold temperatures with showers as 700m snow is expected to fall.

Crown Range Rd and Milford Rd in South Island have been issued a three-hour long road snowfall warning starting mid-day and afternoon, with a centimetre or less of snow predicted to settle.