Taumarunui has recorded its second coldest temperature since records began there in 2007, as a cold snap that has gripped the country for days pushed temperatures to some of their lowest levels in years this morning.
MetService said the mercury had plummeted across the country, with many places recording their coldest temperature of the year. Auckland recorded its coldest temperature since 2021, while Mount Cook Airport was the coldest place in the country, dropping to –10C.
MetService meteorologist Braydon White told 1News that Taumaranui fell to –6.4C at 8am — its second coldest temperature on record, and "close to the record, but not quite".
The coldest temperature recorded in Taumaranui since records began in 2007 was –6.8C, in 2010.
Auckland Airport recorded 1.5C this morning, its coldest since June 30, 2021, when it recorded 1.3C. Whenuapai Airport, on the city's western edge, recorded –2.5C.
Christchurch fell to –3.7C, Hamilton Airport recorded –2.4C at 5am, and Palmerston North got down to –2.8C. Wellington was comparatively mild, with a minimum of 7.8C, which Neal attributed to cloud cover overnight.
Icy windscreens were reported as far north as Kerikeri, illustrating how widespread the cold has been.
Temperatures noticeably plummeted earlier this week and have continued to stay cold across the country, prompting some traffic chaos in Dunedin and rare snow flurries in Wellington.
New Zealand has broken its winter electricity use record for a second straight day, with average power use reaching 7415MW during this morning's peak — 168MW higher than yesterday's record of 7247MW, roughly the equivalent of Hamilton's entire electricity use.
MetService warned tomorrow morning could be even colder, especially for the North Island, so people should "make the most of todays afternoon sunshine".
Neal said there would likely be "frost for most parts of the North Island tomorrow morning and also the South Island too".
“Hamilton and Te Kuiti are looking like some of the coldest for the North Island at –5C being forecast for tomorrow morning.
“Also, the likes of Dannevirke and Masterton and the Wairarapa are also looking very cold.”
Drivers were urged to slow down, drive to the conditions and watch out for black ice.
When will the big chill ease?
The calm, clear conditions were expected to hold through Friday, but a change is brewing in the Tasman, however, with warmer and wetter weather expected as the weekend approaches.
Rain is set to spread onto the South Island on Friday, with heavier falls in the west, before the rain band moves north and brings a wet Sunday to most of the North Island. The wetter weather will also bring a shift to warmer temperatures, with some frost-free nights forecast for the North Island, although the South Island is expected to stay cooler and hold onto morning frosts inland.
Another area of high pressure is expected to move in as the new working week begins, bringing a mild start to Monday and clearing any remaining showers — although it looks to be only a brief reprieve, with wetter weather set to return on Tuesday.
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