MetService warns of frosty weekend as temperatures plunge across New Zealand

Kiwis heading out for weekend sports have been warned to rug up for frosty conditions, with some centres recording their coldest temperatures of the year this week.

Christchurch Airport dropped to -2.7C and Whenuapai Airport in West Auckland fell to 0.3C overnight as a high-pressure system brought clear skies and ideal conditions for frost formation.

MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor said temperatures would remain low through the weekend, particularly across the central North Island and eastern South Island.

“Auckland had a chilly start this morning, especially around Whenuapai, and we’re looking at similar temperatures again tomorrow with lows around 3C,” she said.

Waikato, Bay of Plenty and other parts of the central North Island could also wake to temperatures of 1C to 3C tomorrow morning and on Saturday.

The settled conditions should provide favourable weather for outdoor events, including the final days of Fieldays near Hamilton and the Warriors’ clash against the Sharks at Go Media Stadium in Auckland on Saturday night.

Further south, frosty starts are on the cards for Blenheim, Timaru and Christchurch, with near-freezing temperatures forecast tomorrow morning.

The cold conditions are being driven by clear skies and light winds, O’Connor said.

“As we’re close to the winter solstice, there’s not a lot of warming up happening during the day, so things just get cold and stay cold in some areas.”

She advised Kiwis heading out to Saturday morning sports to “rug up, especially in the South Island”.

The settled weather is expected to continue through much of the weekend, bringing generally dry conditions to most regions.

By Sunday, daytime temperatures should “creep up to almost 20C” in parts of the eastern South Island, with early chills being “blown away by the northwesterly winds”, O’Connor said.

Rain is most likely in western parts of both islands, including Taranaki and the West Coast, while eastern areas are expected to remain largely fine.

Looking ahead, the weekend’s warmer temperatures are likely to carry over into Monday, with northerly winds making conditions feel “a bit more toasty” across both islands, O’Connor said.

But that will “probably change quite quickly” as a southerly front tracks north from the South Island, pushing out the warmer air.

Temperatures are forecast to fall back into the low teens across parts of the South Island, before cooler overnight conditions settle in again for the week ahead.