New Zealand is set for another bitterly cold night, with forecasters warning that parts of the upper North Island will experience their lowest temperatures of the year so far after freezing conditions drove record electricity demand across the country earlier this week.
According to MetService, Northland and Whangārei are expected to record their coldest night of 2026 between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, with temperatures dropping to around 3C.
“So, it’ll be cold,” meteorologist John Law said.
Auckland is also expected to wake up to frosty conditions, with some suburbs likely to experience temperatures below freezing.
“The coldest spots will get down just below freezing, but I think Auckland City itself around about 2C or or 3C. So again, that’s cold enough for a touch of frost tomorrow,” Stuff has quoted.
Hamilton will continue to feel the winter chill, although conditions are expected to be slightly less severe than the previous night.
“We’re down to about -2C compared to about -4C last night, and so you know it’s a little cold, frosty, that kind of weather, but I think we’ll find it’s not as cold as it has been,” Law said, as quoted by Stuff.
While some eastern parts of the North Island and northern regions are expected to experience colder temperatures on Tuesday night than the previous evening, much of the South Island and the lower North Island are likely to see a gradual easing of the cold.
“But for many spots, particularly across the South Island and the Lower North Island, it won’t be as cold as we saw the last few nights. And then [Wednesday] night and through and towards Thursday night, it starts to be a little bit less cold,” Law said, as quoted by Stuff.
The brief respite is expected to come later this week as northwesterly winds bring milder air on Thursday night and Friday morning. However, the warmer spell will be short-lived, with another cold front forecast to move across the country by the weekend, bringing temperatures down once again.
“The South Island will see a similar pattern, with some areas experiencing frost and cold temperatures, especially on the eastern side,” as quoted by Stuff.
The prolonged cold weather has also placed unprecedented pressure on the national electricity grid. Transpower said freezing temperatures prompted increased heating use, resulting in record power demand on Monday morning.
“We are seeing record electricity demand as a result - this morning’s peak demand of 7141 MW is an all-time record,” it said.
“Supply is tight as a result and you may have heard in the news that we are working with our electricity sector colleagues to increase the amount of electricity that is available,” as quoted by Stuff.
Despite the surge in demand, Transpower reassured consumers that it does not expect any disruption to electricity supply for households or businesses