Rotorua woke to its coldest day in 55 years this morning.

The thermometer dropped to -5.6C, beating the previous recorded low of -5.2C set in 1996 and 2011, MetService said.

The records began in 1972.

It was a chilly start across the Bay of Plenty, with Whakatāne recording -3C and Tauranga 1.2C.

MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker said it was Whakatāne’s lowest temperature this year, and tied with the town’s chilliest August low on record.

It was Tauranga’s second-lowest temperature of the year after Wednesday’s 1.1C.

Desert Rd was the coldest place in the country today, at a chilly -10.6C, while the temperature at Tongariro got down to -9.9C.

Bakker said Taupō Airport fell to -7C.

“That’s also the coldest it’s been all year, and the coldest August temperature since records started in 1975 but not the coldest overall. That was -7.1C in July 1993,” he said.

Conditions could start to warm over the weekend, with rain spreading over the South Island throughout the day gradually moving north.

Most of the North Island is expected to experience wet weather at some point on Sunday.

Another area of high pressure will then move in, creating mild temperatures on Monday and causing remaining showers to move away, but more rain is expected on Tuesday.