Kiwis have woken to a chilly morning with many South Island places recording bone-rattling temperatures as a cold snap hits New Zealand.
Overnight temperatures plunged overnight with MetService meteorologist Andrew James telling Newshub it's the first cold snap of the year.
MetService confirmed to Newshub no records were broken overnight but a few places cracked the top five coldest March temperatures – Whangārei and Kerikeri at 7.1 degrees.
The coldest place in the country was Te Anau-Manapouri Airport, which dropped to a teeth-shattering -4.1 degrees.
Many places in the South Island saw the temperatures drop below zero overnight, with Tekapo a touch warmer than Manapouri recording -3.9 degrees. Twizel recorded -3.3, Alexandria -2 and Cromwell -0.8.
But Wanaka didn't plunge below zero, recording a chilly 1 degree, while Christchurch was much warmer at 8 degrees, according to James.
The North Island was also chilly with temperatures plunging to single digits.
James said the coldest place in the North Island was Galatea in the Bay of Plenty, which dropped to 1.8 degrees. Rotorua also saw a chilly morning with a low of 2.9 degrees.
MetService confirmed to Newshub it was the coldest night so far this year in the City of Sails, with the temperature plunging to 8 degrees.
Whenuapai Airport dropped to a chilly 4.2 C - which is the coldest temperature at that weather station since 2005.
The cold temperatures come as wild weather hits the Capital, with Cook Strait ferry sailings cancelled and Wellington roads closed as large swells thrash the south coast.
Huge waves threw rocks, driftwood and sea debris across Moa Point Rd and the South Coast Rd between Lyall Bay and west to Ōwhiro Bay.
