Weekend weather: Frosty start for some in southern New Zealand as summer slips away

See ya, summer. Winter is certainly on the way with reports of light frosts and 0C temperatures in the south.

Parts of the country have had their coldest start to the day for 2018 as the icy spectre of winter looms after a scorching summer.

WeatherWatch head analyst Philip Duncan, who warned earlier this week southern New Zealand was in for a cold start to Saturday, said there were overnight lows of 0C and 1C "all over the place" in Otago and Southland.

He'd seen reports on Twitter of light frosts in inland areas of the south, which was to be expected when air temperatures were around zero.

"It's the coldest morning for 2018 ... you do get frosts in March, so it's kinda normal. It's just that after such a hot summer it's a shock to the system."

Another burst of cold air could also be expected this coming week, when a warm nor-wester will be replaced by a cold southerly in the deep south.

"It will go from mid-20s to barely reaching the teens."

Metservice meteorologist Sarah Haddon said they also recorded a nippy start to today for some.

Some cold temperatures meeting those waking up in central Otago this morning with Dunedin airport dropping to it's lowest temp so far this year (-0.8C). Want to know what helps overnight temp really drop? See https://t.co/aKlFbSUdAC ^AC pic.twitter.com/mWwPvUzKBb

— MetService (@MetService) March 16, 2018

Dunedin Airport at Momona, south and inland of the city, fell to -0.8C overnight and Alexandra - just a few weeks ago sweltering through temperatures in the high 30s - dipped to 2.5C early this morning.

Further south, in Gore, a low of 4.9C was recorded.

Coastal areas fared better, Queenstown and Invercargill shivered through lows of 6.2C and 6.5C respectively.

Dunedin, in comparison with nearby Momona, was positively tropical, falling to 8C overnight, 0.2C lower than one of the coldest North Island settlements, Waiouru.

In Christchurch it was 10C.

It was a different story in North Island centres. Wellington and Hamilton hovered just over 14C; Aucklands overnight low was 15.3C.

The rest of the weekend looked to be uneventful, weather wise.

An area of warmer, moist air north of New Zealand meant some cloudy or isolated showers for some parts of the North Island.

One or two showers heading your way #Auckland with a southeast change (just over Coromadel now). Sunny spells should develop in the afternoon as any remaining showers clear. Keep an eye on the progression of the showers here https://t.co/7k3nmdWQwx ^AC pic.twitter.com/huzJWo7mAO

— MetService (@MetService) March 16, 2018

There's also a low risk of thunderstorms as a front moves over the north of Auckland, including Great Barrier Island, and Northland tonight.

But it should be a "beautiful day for most" in the South Island, Haddon said.

Tomorrow would be even better across the country.

"There'll be less cloud around and more sunny spells."

YOUR WEATHER

Auckland
Today: Cloudy with a shower around midday. 23C
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy, isolated showers clearing by afternoon. 23C

Hamilton
Today: Cloudy periods. 22C
Tomorrow: Fine. 22C

Tauranga
Today: Cloudy periods. 22C
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. 22C

Napier
Today: Mostly cloudy, a few morning showers. 19C
Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, the odd shower. 20C

Wellington
Today: Morning cloud clearing. 17C
Tomorrow: Fine. 21C

Nelson:
Today: Fine 19C
Tomorrow: Fine. 20C

Christchurch
Today: Morning cloud clearing. 16C
Tomorrow: Morning cloud clearing. 19C

Dunedin
Today: Mainly fine, but cloud increasing evening. 15C
Tomorrow: Mainly fine. 19C

Queenstown
Today: Fine. 18C
Tomorrow: Morning cloud clearing. 21C