Summer heat shows up in Central

It's been a hit-and-miss summer in parts of the South this season, but the heat was certainly on in Alexandra today.

The town's Unichem pharmacy clock showed a temperature of 31C at 2.30pm.

By 3.45pm the temperature had dropped back to 28.3C, according to the MetService website, but it was still listed as the warmest place in the country.  

The lowest temperature was shown as being at Dunedin's Leith Saddle, where it was a distinctly unsummery 13.8C.

MetService's 7-day forecast shows temperatures dropping a bit in inland Otago over the weekend, to the mid-20s, before heading back up around the 30C mark early next week.

Dunedin, meanwhile, looks set for temperatures in the high teens over the weekend before a run of early 20s going into next week.