It’s warm in Sydney this Wednesday morning with the city reaching the mid 20s before 8am and the high is in the low 30s – now that warm airflow is crossing the Tasman and will help lift temperatures in eastern areas into the low to mid 20s by Thursday.

Across Thursday and Friday daytime highs in regions like Hawke’s Bay may climb to 23 degrees, maybe even a degree or two higher in some isolated places.

The nor’wester isn’t quite as warm in the South Island but over Thursday and Friday we expect parts of Canterbury to climb into the late teens and possibly reach 20 degrees here and there in the east.

Northland will also climb into the 20s in the coming days with surrounding regions like Waikato and Auckland fairly mild.

As for overnight lows – they are also on the rise nationwide for the next couple of days.

Colder air arrives in the South Island this weekend, with snow showers returning to the ranges by Saturday or Sunday. There is no hail in the forecast for New Zealand between now and the weekend, but some is possible in coastal areas on Sunday and Monday as the southerly kicks in.

All of New Zealand will be colder on Monday due to a nationwide southerly – but by Tuesday conditions will already be easing in many areas.

– Temperature map for New Zealand as of Thursday afternoon / Weathermap

– WeatherWatch.co.nz