Heavy rain continues in parts of the South Island today as the ex-tropical low drifts down over the eastern North Island and will push out to sea later this afternoon and evening, getting stronger as it does so – but also moving further offshore. Rain has eased in a number of North Island regions but drizzle and showers can still be expected, especially in the west (or the western side of the hills and ranges), along with windy westerlies developing.

As we go into Friday PM and Saturday AM a colder southerly change moves up the South Island with a dusting of snow likely on the peaks of the Southern Alps on Friday night (above about 1800m). Humidity eases further for those in the north where it has been very muggy for the past day or two. Single digit overnight lows are expected across inland parts of the South Island and Central North Island on Saturday morning, but winds in the North Island will have more of a westerly lean to them – helping dry out eastern areas of the upper North Island.

This set-up remains on Sunday and Monday too – with perhaps a few inland thunderstorms or downpours forming but large dry areas in the mix.

By the middle of next week drier weather is likely in many regions with lighter winds – but the unsettled weather pattern may not fully clear until the end of January when, hopefully, we’ll again see an uptick in high pressure exiting Australia for New Zealand.