Updated 7:27pm Tues — A cold southwesterly airflow lies over the country on Wednesday – meaning more chilly conditions around NZ!

Showers are mainly restricted to eastern parts of the country, and push a little further inland for Canterbury during the afternoon.  There’s a mix of rain showers, sleet, hail and some snow – but a lot of dry weather too.  Snow showers are like rain showers – often isolated hit and miss – and the wind flow and ranges make a difference as to who gets them and who doesn’t.

The North Island sees morning rain in the east ease to showers in the afternoon, while there will be sunny areas in the morning for the most part out west thanks to the ranges blocking much of the shower activity – before finally these showers move through across most regions in the afternoon for a time – along with a colder change. Some of these showers will be heavy with hail.

The South Island’s West Coast is the place to be with mainly sunny conditions (after a frosty start), and south to southeasterly winds.

Southland and Otago see more snow showers in the morning for some areas but dry spells increase later in the day.

Our detailed Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington forecasts on the homepage give a good picture as to weather along the eastern side of the South Island and lower North Island.

Auckland may get colder as the day goes on – and certainly Thursday looks to be the coldest day of the week in the north – while at the same time in the south of the country there should be a very slight lift in the daytime temperatures.

– Photo: Jemma Wells

– WeatherWatch.co.nz