Kiwis in the south have woken to frosty temperatures and Cook Strait ferry sailings have been cancelled as a cold front makes its icy presence known.
MetService has issued a heavy swell warning from Wellington to the Wairarapa, forcing Interislander to cancel all of its Wednesday sailings.
"We have cancelled all Interislander sailings today, including the 2:30am Thursday morning. There are large swells and high winds on Cook Strait - safety of our passengers and crew is our main priority," Interislander said in a Facebook post.
MetService issued a heavy swell warning from Wellington - Cape Terawhiti to Turakirae Head - from noon Wednesday to 9pm Thursday, with Wairarapa's - Turakirae Head to Mataikona - heavy swell warning coming into effect from 9pm Wednesday to 9pm Thursday.
A strong wind watch has also been issued for about Mahia Penisula and west to SH2 from 5pm Wednesday to 3pm Thursday, and Coastal Marlborough including the Sounds from 8am Wednesday to 6pm Thursday.
NIWA's weather map shows Aotearoa is a country of two different climates with "summer in the far north, winter in the deep south".
In a tweet, NIWA said Invercargill's maximum temperature is 11.9C on Wednesday, which it says is the "coldest March day in 14 years or since 2009".
MetService recorded "lots" of single-digit temperatures on Wednesday with some even reaching frosts.
MetService warns the frigid temperatures may stick around for a little longer.
"Another few cold nights are on the cards this week."
It may have been an extra cold evening for those in the South after Transpower asked Christchurch, Rangiora and Kaiapoi residents to conserve power.
Due to a planned outage at a substation in Islington, Transpower asked residents to conserve power to avoid power cuts.
"Transpower is advising people to stay warm by continuing to heat the rooms they are using but asking them to consider turning down the temperature a degree or two," the national grid operator said in a statement to RNZ.
Further MetService warnings and watches
- Tararua District and Hawke's Bay south of Napier: Strong wind watch from noon Wednesday to 3pm Thursday.
- Desert Road: Road snowfall warning from 1am Wednesday to 8am Wednesday.
- Lewis Pass: Road snowfall warning from 2am Wednesday to 9am Wednesday.
- Arthur's Pass: Road snowfall warning from 2am Wednesday to 9am Wednesday.
- Porters Pass: Road snowfall warning from 8p, to 10am Wednesday.
Temperatures in the North
- Kaitaia: High 19C, Low 6C
- Whangārei: High 18C, Low 8C
- Auckland Central: High 17C, Low 8C
- Hamilton: High 16C, Low 3C
- Rotorua: High 15C, Low 3C
- New Plymouth: High 14C, Low 6C
- Palmerston North: High 14C, Low 8C
- Tauranga: High 19C, Low 8C
- Gisborne: High 16C, Low 8C
- Taupō: High 14C, Low 5C
- Napier: High 16C, Low 8C
- Masterton: High 12C, Low 8C
- Wellington: High 12C, Low 9C
Temperatures in the South
- Nelson: High 17C, Low 7C
- Westport: High 16C, Low 6C
- Franz Josef: High 15C, Low 4C
- Queenstown: High 12C, Low 1C
- Stewart Island: High 11C, Low 8C
- Invercargill: High 12C, Low 3C
- Dunedin: High 12C, Low 8C
- Timaru: High 12C, Low 5C
- Christchurch: High 12C, Low 7C
- Blenheim: High 15C, Low 6C
