High pressure smothers New Zealand today but a cold front is coming on Thursday, and a colder/cooler southerly change for some this Sunday and next Monday. But there’s also a tropical low that is likely to become stormy late this week around Vanuatu.

The guidance going into early next week isn’t in agreement – we show you the differences and how a strong high near southern NZ early next week may well be the deciding factor on the tracking of this future tropical low. For now, NZ is not exposed to a direct hit – but we’ll keep you up to date in the days ahead incase that changes.

We also cover upcoming rainfall, current soil moisture deficits and an update for farmers on facial eczema.