Basic National Outlook for this week from the Weather Watch Centre:

Northern New Zealand (roughly from Waikato northwards) will enjoy settled weather today as a large high remains over much of the country but a low in the Southern Ocean means conditions will become windier over the southern South Island.

While high’s don’t guarantee sunny, dry, weather conditions inland look pretty good for central and northern New Zealand.  A few showers, from a small low north of Bay of Plenty could produce a few, small, isolated showers in eastern areas from Northland to East Cape – and that just includes Auckland.

The strong west to north-west flow that will develop over Southland later today should keep temperatures in the late teens or early 20s for a number of central or eastern centres.  Those winds will gradually slide northwards as the high moves out into the Pacific – with the windier conditions reaching Auckland by Thursday.  

Heavy rain is also likely to affect western areas of the South Island, driven in by those west to north west winds.  Watch for rain warnings.

Make the most of the warmer weather – by the end of the week, once that high has well and truly gone – cooler sou’westers will develop right across the nation.  That means a cool end to the week for northern New Zealand too and possibly a cooler weekend as those sou’westers kick in.

For eastern areas it should mean a mainly dry, warm, week.