Snow falls in South Island

The first snowfall of the year has given a light coating to mountains in the South Island after a cold front moved across the country last night.

Cardrona Alpine Resort says it's had a dusting of snow overnight.

"Just a couple of months until we open for winter and this has got us pretty excited," a spokesperson said.

Snow could also be seen on The Remarkables and Coronet Peak in Queenstown on Thursday morning.

A cold front moved across the country yesterday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to parts of the North and South islands.

Thunderstorms also rumbled across the south overnight.

There is a noticeable difference in temperatures in many places today than yesterday.

Christchurch was sitting at 12 deg C at 10am on Thursday and is set to reach a high of just 13 deg C, while Dunedin was on 10 deg C and Wellington 13 deg C.

Aucklanders will get to enjoy the warmer weather for a little longer, with the city reaching 20 deg C this morning.

The weather is expected to remain relatively fine for most of the country over the weekend.

There is a chance of showers in Wellington on Friday and Auckland on Saturday which is forecast to clear up quickly.

-By Devon Bolger