Strong winds, 8m waves and sub-zero temperatures are on the cards as a southwesterly front brings a wintry blast to parts of Aotearoa this week.

MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon said several weather watches were in place for Sunday afternoon, with some expected to continue into Monday.

The Eastern areas of Dunedin and Clutha were under a strong wind watch until 2pm today.

Wotherspoon said gales in these areas had the potential to become severe in exposed places.

Heavy swell warnings

With the strong southwesterly flow affecting much of the country, strong onshore winds would make for less than ideal surf conditions, said Wotherspoon.

The remainder of Sunday afternoon is expected to be a “watch from shore” day for surfers wanting to brave the wind.

Three heavy swell warnings are in place at the bottom of the North Island for the Wellington and Wairarapa coastline. Waves in these areas are expected to rise to nearly 6m this afternoon.

Today swells reached up to 7 or 8m off South Island coasts, according to a MetService update.

Wellington - Cape Terawhiti to Turakirae Head

Waves driven by brisk southerly winds rose to 4.5m this morning, but are expected to ease below 4m by Monday afternoon.

Wairarapa - Turakirae Head to Mataikona

Waves rose to 4.5m this morning and are expected to reach 5.6m on Sunday afternoon. The swells are forecast to ease to about 4.5m on Monday morning and to 4m by Monday evening.

Weather for the week ahead

The strong, showery south-westerly flow is likely to continue into the start of the week, MetService said.

While there was a low risk of heavy rain for much of the country later in the week, Wotherspoon said “a cold, unpleasant showery rain with a risk of strong winds” was more likely.

Auckland’s scattered showers and strong winds are set to ease tonight with occasional rain expected to develop on Tuesday evening.

Looking further ahead, Auckland is in luck with Thursday and Friday appearing fine and clear.

The Chatham Islands are in for the worst battering as this weekend wraps up, showers, with hail and possible thunderstorms likely today.

Heavy showers for the Chatham Islands are likely to ease into the tail end of next week.

Temperatures this week - chilly southwest winds

Temperatures in Southland early in the week are set to be “cooler than expected” for this time of year.

Christchurch and Timaru were forecast to hit a low of -3C tomorrow, Wotherspoon said.

Temperatures were then looking to warm up later in the week.

Auckland is likely to see a weekly low of 9C on Tuesday, with highs of 18C as we head into next weekend.