Jackets and scarves were a requirement for the first official day of summer in Dunedin as the airport recorded a high of 11.3degC, well below the December 1 average maximum of 18.5degC.
And it was not as bad as the airport's coldest December day, Christmas Day 1975, when the maximum temperature was 9.9degC, MetService figures show.
MetService meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said the bad news was the cool weather could well continue for the next couple of weeks.
The good news for Otago was temperatures were expected to trend upwards to more typical December levels in the second half of the month and rainfall was expected to be below normal.
The weather would gradually settle as the signal for higher pressures was particularly strong in the second half of the month, she said.
''After a very stormy and cool November, many people will be looking forward to some enjoyable BBQ weather.''
Usually, the weather started to settle down and warm up as New Zealand moved into November, but the month was unusually cold and stormier because of strong southwesterlies and lower pressures across the the country and to the east, she said.
This meant frequent hailstorms during the month and active thunderstorms across the city on November 11.
Early figures for November show it was a wet and cold month for Dunedin, with the airport's mean temperature of 11.7degC, -0.4degC below the November normal, while rainfall was 124% of the month's normal at 62mm.
When included in the spring figures (September to November), it meant the season was cool, averaging 10.1degC, -0.3degC below the spring normal. Spring rainfall was 165mm, or 109% of normal.
''That equates to the 10th coldest spring in the record starting 1963.''
