After a spell of wild weather, Kiwis can get their jandals and sunnies out over the coming days with hot temperatures on the way.
MetService said a ridge of high pressure, combined with light winds and longer days is resulting in the temperatures soaring.
MetService meteorologist Clare O'Connor said north-northwest winds are also helping drag the temperatures up.
The forecasting agency said Kiwis can expect the warm weather to hang around until Friday before a front moves over New Zealand.
O'Connor told Newshub Ashburton is looking like the place to be on Wednesday with a high of 26 degrees.
The eastern parts of the South Island, particularly the Canterbury region, will also see hot weather.
MetService is predicting Blenheim to get to 23C, while Christchurch, Timaru and Dunedin are expected to get to 22C.
The eastern part of North Island should also see hot temperatures through to the weekend, O'Connor said, with the thermostat expected to get into the twenties for places like Masterton, Napier, Taupō and Rotorua.
"So those areas will be warm over the next couple of days, which is nice since it's still school holidays," she said.
NIWA said it will be as much as 10C above average in some regions on Thursday and Friday meaning it feels "more like summer".
"Boing! An Australian air mass will hop across the Tasman, springing warm air into New Zealand from Wednesday-Saturday," NIWA said.
But the warm weather has come after a "chilly start" to the day on Wednesday morning.
MetService said Waiouru was the coldest place in New Zealand at 7am with a bone-rattling temperature of -5.2C. It wasn't much better in Taupō with a temperature of –3C.
Other places to record negative temperatures this morning were Hamilton, Masterton and Timaru all recorded –1C.
But while people might be enjoying the sunny weather over the coming days, it's not expected to last, with a front set to move over New Zealand during the weekend bringing more rain.
