20 degrees of separation . . .

Hinges on freezers and fridges throughout Akaroa were put through the hard yards yesterday as summer pushed autumn aside. The Banks Peninsula town hit 32C, according to Niwa.

Clint from Akaroa Motor Garage said: “I think someone mentioned it had been 36 degrees in Motukarara but yeah, the chillers are certainly looking diminished quite significantly.

“There have been a few bags of ice out the door . . .”

But further south, about six hours down the road, Lumsden in Southland was treated to the country’s lowest temperature: 12.3C.

A staff member at Lumsden Lotto & Dairy said it had been a bit cool.

“It’s been raining since morning, so yeah it’s a bit cold but we can’t say it’s very cold today,” the woman said.

The lie of the land and a cold front slowly sweeping up the South Island was to blame for the difference in weather.

“[The cold front] is going through Dunedin at the moment and that will have colder air behind it,” said MetService meteorologist Melissa Oosterwijk. “As the sun comes up, the day becomes warmer but a cold front went through [Southland] . . .”

Then a northwesterly swept over the Southern Alps and across the Canterbury Plains, lifting temperatures in the region.

“They had sunshine earlier for longer and they’ve had the northwest which helps the temperature go up as well,” Oosterwijk said of Banks Peninsula.

It should be fine in the North Island today but cooler in the South.