Dust off the winter duvet and warm socks – a "very cold snap" is forecast for parts of the country from tonight.
MetService meteorologist Heather Keats said as autumn begins tomorrow, the chilly temperatures would be “pretty much noticeable everywhere”.
“Saturday's not too bad, and Sunday, not too bad, especially up top. But it's the South Island that's really going to feel this,” she told Breakfast.
Where the overnight low will dip to just six degrees as autumn arrives - watch on TVNZ+
Keats said Christchurch would reach an overnight low of 6C tonight.
She said the air mass was not coming down from the tropics, bringing the temperatures right down to create the "autumnal chill".
“Daytime lows [are] pretty chilly, and overnight lows pretty chilly. So Auckland will drop down to 11C by Monday and Tuesday.”
“We will have some more tropical intrusions coming in the next few weeks, whether they extend all the way down to Wānaka, Alexandra, and Southland, I'm not too sure yet, but yeah, so it is going to be a little chilly."
Shortly before 9am, MetService issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Taumarunui, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupō, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and Taihape from 3pm until 11pm today.
It said "a showery unstable air mass is expected to affect the North Island from this afternoon and evening".
For inland Gisborne and Hawke's Bay, inland Bay of Plenty including Rotorua, Taupō, Taihape, and Taumarunui, there was a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms with localised downpours bringing rainfall intensities of 25 to 40mm/h.
"Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips," the forecaster said.
"Driving conditions will also be hazardous with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain."
The weekend and beyond
Keats said Saturday would be "the best day" for getting out and about.
"Tomorrow, the main centres look like they're going to have a really great day, lots of sunshine, not a lot of wind," she said.
"Sunday, there are going to be some scattered showers starting to develop for the North Island, some heavy in the afternoon too, and a few evening showers in the South Island.
"So the weekend's actually not too bad."
She said by Monday there could be "a lot more rain" to accompany the lower temperatures.
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