Today might be the best day of the week across the Waitaki, with snow, rain and colder weather set to hit overnight.

It was a mild start to the week across much of the country this morning (Monday), but with winds swinging to the south today, MetService is forecasting temperatures to return to more familiar cool June values, along with snow for the higher parts of the lower South Island early Tuesday morning.

Much of the country will be dodging showers through the week, but with more unsettled weather on the cards for Thursday and Friday, it will pay to keep up with the forecast.

Temperatures around New Zealand on Monday morning were very warm for the time of year, not dropping below 16°C all night in Whangārei. 

However, the warm temperatures were a brief blip, with cooler winds returning today.  

MetService meteorologist John Law says, “Northwesterly winds overnight brought plenty of warm air across the country, but they also brought wet and windy weather as well. 

However, temperatures look set to drop for most of us tonight. In fact, for many places, Wednesday's high will be cooler than this morning's low.”

Overnight tonight (Monday) into Tuesday, colder air pushes northwards across the South Island, bringing the risk of snowfall for parts of Southland and Otago above 300 to 400 metres. 

MetService has issued Road Snowfall Warnings for the tops of the Milford Road, Crown Range Road and Lindis Pass.

“The combination of wetter weather and cold air brings the ingredients needed to generate some snowfall about the highest parts of the lower South Island tonight,” John says. 

The first half of the week is looking like the best time to get any outdoor jobs finished with the weather set to go downhill in time for Thursday and Friday.

“The end of the week looks set to see the return of some windier and wetter weather across many parts of Aotearoa New Zealand. There may be the risk of severe weather, so remember to keep an eye on the forecast on MetService.com,” he says.