Winter still has a month to run but southerners could be forgiven for thinking it was spring today as temperatures climb into the mid-teens in many places.
Around 1.30pm MetService was showing a temperature of 16.6degC for central Dunedin, making it one of the warmest places in the country.
Inland Otago was slightly cooler but Millers Flat (15degc) and Alexandra (14degC) were also enjoying a pleasant day.
The only places shown by MetService as warmer than Dunedin were in the top half of the North Island - Gisborne, and Whangaparoa, north of Auckland.
WeatherWatch.co.nz says reports are coming in from around the country of blossoms out, pasture suddenly growing, and lambs and calves being born.
The forecaster says it's not the first time it has ''declared an early start to spring. It's happened every year for the past five years''.
