While mountainous areas and some inland areas of the mainland have felt the full force of a nor’ wester over the last 24 hours, temperatures have also been boosted significantly.

At 3am this morning, Christchurch was 16 degrees with the fohn wind blowing, which is about 14 degrees above the August overnight average for the city. Ashburton was also 16 degrees at 6am and reports of Rangiora topping 18 degrees in the wee small hours have also come through.

Winds are continuing to exceed 70kph in Blenheim this morning and strong nor’ westers are continuing to blow across the Southern Alps.