A stretch of settled winter weather kicks off the week for much of New Zealand, with widespread frosts expected for areas south of the central North Island.

Crisp clear days, chilly nights and some foggy mornings will be the dominant theme.

Christchurch is expected to reach lows of -3C this week, Dunedin not much warmer at -2C.

Further north, Wellington could dip as low as 3C, while Hamilton starts Wednesday at 1C.

Even Auckland is in for a brisk start, with temperatures forecast to drop to 6C.

In the Bay of Plenty, people can expect single-digit overnight lows for the rest of the work.

“People will really feel those frosty starts, particularly inland where we’re expecting consistent cold temperatures,” said MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden.

“With clear skies great for early Matariki viewing, much of the South Island is dipping well into the negatives in the mornings, lovely winter temperatures.”

Daytime conditions will be mostly sunny. However, not all areas will be cloud-free.

Patchy cloud and the odd shower linger around Northland and the eastern North and South Islands early in the week, as a light southeasterly flow carries moisture into those regions.

Parts of the South Island can expect persistent fog and low cloud to form under these settled conditions, especially in valleys.

“Towns like Wānaka, Queenstown, and Alexandra, and those in the Mackenzie Basin may feel a bit grey and gloomy, unless you escape up to the ski fields where the sun will be out in full force.”

From midweek, a more active weather pattern moves in from the Tasman Sea.

Rain is forecast to reach the West Coast late Wednesday, before spreading into the western North Island through Thursday.

“After several days of calm and mostly dry weather, that midweek shift will bring a noticeable change, especially in the west, where rain is likely to set in,” said Lynden.

“There’s potential for heavier falls and stronger winds in some areas on Thursday.”

Stay up to date at metservice.com, and check back this Wednesday for the Matariki long weekend outlook.