Has our stunner summer turned to custard?

You'd be forgiven for thinking that New Zealand's summer has taken a turn for the worse this weekend. Photo / Nicola Topping

Summer has ground to a spectacular halt in a number of regions over the past week and this weekend it's even worse for many centres across the country.

Canterbury has endured days of cloud and cold winds off the sea. Many day time highs have only been in the teens while overnight lows a week ago were cold enough to see people lightning fires.

This week, while it was humid and hot in a number of areas, the cloud, wind and heavy showers moved in. Yesterday in Auckland felt more like a November day with strong winds and heavy showers off and on all day.

But today it's the east of the country that has not only seen summer end but has actually slipped right back in to winter conditions.

Wellington has a cold southerly and rain and that southerly is gale force on the hills.

Yesterday the weather saw Wellington airport stop all flights as fog set in. As of 10:30 Saturday morning it was just 14 degrees in the Capital.

It's 13 in Lower Hutt and some parts of southern Hawkes Bay. Napier and Hastings have 16 degrees and rain has been so heavy the Napier-Taupo highway has been blocked by a large slip.

Gale force winds are affecting the Hauraki Gulf today and Auckland is gloomy with cloud, although it is fairly mild - but certainly not hot.

In the South Island the winter weather continues with Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill only on 12 degrees at 10:30am thanks to that southerly. Timaru and Oamaru have 13 and Gore is just 11.

The unsettled weather will continue across the weekend and into next week, however I've got my fingers crossed that conditions will settle everywhere around Wednesday next week. I think it's safe to say that January has pretty much been a write a off.

- Philip Duncan