Cold temperatures and clear skies are forecast up and down the country for the remainder of the Matariki long weekend, according to MetService.
By Makayla Powick
MetService meteorologist Alanna Burrows told 1News that Christchurch was expected to drop to -3C within the next 24 hours — its lowest temperature so far this year.
"The lowest temperature at the moment is -2.7C and it's going for -3, so it could break it overnight tonight," she said.
Last night several South Island regions experienced its coldest temperatures for 2026.
Nelson recorded -0.3C in the early hours of the morning, Invercargill dropped to -2.9C and Mount Cook Village recorded a chilly -9C.
"That is the coldest they've experienced this year," said Burrows.
She said the cold spell at the end of June and early July meant many regions had already recorded some frosty temperatures.
Looking ahead to the rest of the long weekend, Burrows said, "there’s quite a lot of clear skies around today, so it's colder, but it's settled. So, for people heading out to the slopes, it should be nice."
On Saturday, Auckland was expected to reach a high of 13C and a low of 3C. With Sunday looking a little bit warmer, hitting a 14C high and a 7C low.
For Wellington she said: "we've got a high of 10C and a low of 4C and then for Sunday, a high of 11C and a low of 6C".
Christchurch was set to be the coldest out of New Zealand's major cities, with a high of 10C and a low of -3C for Saturday.
“They can expect severe frost at that temperature,” said Burrows.
On Sunday, Christchurch can expect a high of 9C and a low of 0C.
Looking further south, Dunedin will have a high of 10C on Saturday, a low of 1C.
“So, it's going to be frosty," she said.
Then on a Sunday, Dunedin was expected to reach a 10C high and a 3C low.
The conditions were a perfect excuse to wrap up warm and make the most of the perfect blue bird skies to find the Matariki cluster.
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