A northwesterly airflow lies over the country on Thursday with wet conditions in the west and drier weather out east, the east coast of the North Island sees a few spots of rain however.

Rain or showers for the western North Island on Thursday, heavy at times with a risk of thunder / hail especially Taranaki southwards. Spots of rain spread to the east coast at times.

Showers with thunderstorms and hail possible for the West Coast of the South Island, mostly sunny out east with some high cloud. A few morning showers about the southeastern corner of the South Island clear then a few may appear again in the evening.

By Weather Analyst Aaron Wilkinson – WeatherWatch.co.nz