© Unwin LodgeThe area around Mount Cook on June 23
The temperature at Pukaki - west of Timaru and south of Aoraki/Mount Cook - hit -20 degree Celsius this morning, 5.6 degrees off the record low set in Ranfurly in 1903.
The MetService said Omarama went as low as -16.7 degrees and Tekapo -13 degrees.
"It's down there New Zealand, one of our coldest days in history," Breakfast weather presenter Sam Wallace says.
By 9.20am many South Island centres had yet to reach zero.
Invercargill was at -3.6 degrees, Alexandra -5.1 degrees and Queenstown -5.3 degrees.
It was still -12.4 degrees at the Pukaki Aerodrome.
Alexandra was set for a maximum temperature of three degrees today, while Timaru and Ashburton would peak at five degrees.
"If you are one of those people that are hesitant to fire up the heaters because of the power bill, please, today is the day," Mr Wallace says.
Tauranga, Kaitaia and Whitianga would peak at 12 degree Celsius, while Auckland was set for a high of 11 degree Celsius.
The good news was tomorrow was not expected to be quite as cold, Mr Wallace says, although there would still be frosts.
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