MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said much of the South Island was below the average for January, with Queenstown and Wanaka standing out at 6 deg C below on highs of 15 deg C and 17 deg C on Tuesday. "We've got quite a strong southwesterly flow and that's bringing some colder temperatures, and even with that you've got to also think about wind chill," he said. The chill was being experienced right across the country, with Christchurch experiencing temperatures 4 deg C below the January average. The MetService predicted Christchurch would get back up to a high of 27 deg C by Saturday. He said people on the southeast coast of the South Island could expect weekend temperatures to rise by about 10 deg C from what they were today.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 06, 2020 23:26 UTC