Weather: Cold snap incoming, temperatures to plunge across New Zealand

A front is forecast to send temperatures plunging across much of New Zealand.

Niwa Weather described the incoming cold bump as bringing “some of the coldest air of the year so far to the South Island”.

MetService forecaster Michael Pauley told the Herald a front is set to arrive in Fiordland tomorrow evening.

“That’s going to move up the country the following day,” he said.

“We have a low confidence of some heavy rain on Thursday as the front moves up the west of the South Island.”

🌦️A sharp front is set to bring some of the coldest air of the year so far to the South Island, while a tropical low lurks north of NZ heading into the weekend.
Full video is up now on the NIWA site + app. Worth a watch. Cheers! -Chester pic.twitter.com/Er4y4E2FnL

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) February 24, 2026

He warned southwesterly winds would follow the front, causing temperatures to tumble across the South Island, particularly in the east.

According to MetService, Dunedin will reach a high of only 18C and a low of 10C on Thursday. Friday would see a high of 15C and a low of 9C.

Timaru is forecast to see a swift 10C drop from Thursday to Friday, with highs falling from 28C to 18C.

“On Friday, Christchurch is looking to get to a high of 15C. As we go into the weekend, it stays pretty cold.”

Pawley said cold temperatures would still be around early next week.

“We are seeing another push of cold air on Monday, not only for the South Island but also for the North Island,” he said.

Christchurch is forecast to tumble to 14C on Monday and a low of 7C, while Queenstown is set to only reach a high of 16C and a low of 5C.

In the North Island on Monday, Wellington will only reach a high of 14C with a low of 10C, while Taupo is set to reach a high of 16C and a low of 8C.

Temperatures remained average for the upper half of the North Island for this time of year, Pawley suggested.

Auckland will reach 22C with a low of 14C and Hamilton is forecast to hit a high of 20C with a low of 10C.

He said temperatures would bounce back following the weekend cold and Monday’s cold bump.

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