The beginning of the weekend and the final day of March sees quite a few eastern places likely to see the cloudiest skies first thing this morning with isolated showers or drizzle patches possible however brighter spells are also expected as the day progresses.

The far north is probably going to see more showers than most places today as they pop up here and there throughout the region but the mercury shouldn’t be too cool for the next 24 hours.

Other parts of the country may also see cloudy spells but there is more chance of sunshine thoughout the day with winds generally quite gentle.

Temperatures are probably going to be a little cool from Gisborne down the eastern flank to Southland but only a notch or two below what would be expected for the very end of March.

Just a reminder that clocks go back one hour tomorrow morning as of 3am which signals the end of daylight saving for the summer however clocks will move forward once again at the end of September.

Story by weather analyst Richard Green