High pressure controls NZ’s weather for most of this week but it comes with thunderstorms & later this week some wind and rain as the high moves well east of the country.

As the high slowly moves east a weak low (which almost became a tropical cyclone over this past weekend) will drift down. Between the powerful high and the fairly weak low we’ll see a strengthening nor’east winds and rain clouds moving down…this is called a “squash zone”. Some good news is that is should ease over the long weekend – but may not for Saturday.

Elsewhere it’s mostly dry week but a late week cold front arrives in the lower South Island.