A cold change is about to reach the lower half of the South Island bringing snow to the hills and ranges and a cold Saturday for many.

But Friday should be milder with a nor'wester blowing, says the latest update from WeatherWatch.co.nz

"Many southern centres have single digit temperatures on Saturday at the warmest part of the day. The further north you are in the South Island the least you will be affected by this cold front.

"Saturday's high for Gore is +6C, following a high on Friday of +14C. Invercargill gets to about 14C on Friday, then a high of only +8C on Saturday. Dunedin has a high of +13C on Friday and a high of +8C on Saturday. Queenstown has a high of +11C on Friday, +8C on Saturday and only +6C on Sunday."

At the other end of NZ, Whangarei has Max Temps of +18C Friday, Saturday and Sunday, says a spokesperson for the weather organisation.

"Northerners have high pressure dominating for most of the weekend and this will limit how far north this cold front can go, keeping it over the South Island.

"A few showers are about, otherwise dry for the upper South Island and much of the North Island.

"By Sunday a light easterly kicks in to the north of NZ as high pressure moves south east of the country and a weak low grows in the Tasman Sea. This might bring in some wet weather to parts of the West Coast."

The easiest way for us to work out how quiet the weather is, is by checking our video ratings on YouTube. This month they have dropped substantially across NZ and Australia.

This map highlights why - the redder it is, the drier it is... and this is for the next 7 days: pic.twitter.com/D4zAKCW5zl

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) May 16, 2024