A polar blast continues today, mostly east of the North Island and South Island but the Chatham Islands are in the thick of it. A few showers and downpours may still brush the lower eastern side of the North Island today.

Winds will ease back over the next 24 hours as high pressure moves in from the Tasman Sea, this will extend frosts as far north as about Waikato and parts of Bay of Plenty, with foggy areas more likely going into the later part of the week and weekend.

But this Sunday and next Monday the high starts to shift east of the North Island, that will bring a cold front up the South Island and windier, milder, nor’westers developing ahead of it – with a wintry change arriving in the south of the South Island.