There were fears this week by some readers that the summer heat was long gone and winter was fast approaching, however the cold front that hit the country last weekend is now well and truly gone and the slow heating of the nation continues – with warmer weather on the way.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says the overnight lows and daytime highs will continue to creep up with highs in the low to mid 20s returning to many places this weekend and into next week.

A cool southerly is, however, in the forecast, moving up the South Island during Friday, but it is far weaker than last weekend’s cold snap which lingered for a number of days.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says a stream of highs will continue moving in from the west over the coming 7 to 10 days bringing mostly dry, mild and sunny weather to the country, with Southland, Fiordland and coastal Otago the only regions receiving rain and wind every few days from passing cold fronts.

Next week may be a little cloudier for some in the north of the country, however at this stage we believe showers will only be isolated for most areas.

But the 2011 wild card continues – and that is the risk of a significant tropical low.  The tropics are looking increasingly active and although no tropical lows are forecast for New Zealand in the coming week the risk of one developing with little notice is always a possibility in the far north.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz

Homepage image / David Shone