Weather forecasters had been expecting a chilly end of the week, warning Friday could be the coldest day of the year for Northland.
The winterless north earlier today woke to 3C in Whangārei and 5C in Kaitāia while Hamilton was below freezing on -1C.
Auckland Airport recorded a morning temperature of 3.2C, while New Plymouth dropped to 0.7C and Wellington Airport 2.1C.
In the south, Christchurch was also waking to a frosty -3C, Wanaka -3.3C, Timaru 0C and Queenstown -4C.
For the first time in weeks MetService had not issued any weather warnings in watches.
Following the cold start to the morning, Aucklanders can expect mostly fine weather with areas of frosts or fog.
Most of the North Island is in for a fine day with patches of fog, except in the West where showers will focus in Gisborne and the Wairoa District, easing this afternoon and clearing evening.
Over the rest of winter and beyond, forecaster Niwa’s three-month outlook has picked near or above-average temperatures in all regions – with fewer winter cold snaps and frosts than normal.
It comes as the country experiences a mild start to the season.
Niwa said last month was the 12th warmest June on record and featured the country’s hottest-ever recorded temperature with a balmy 25C in Hastings.
