The country as a whole today should see the skies clearing and the winds easing with sunshine making a return for quite a few regions but not necessarily all.

It certainly will be a quieter 24 hours compared to the previous 24 but still some eastern parts of the country are likely to feel the effects of the southerly.

A few showers could linger from Gisborne down to North Otago but an easing is slowly expected but the wind could take a little longer to abate in places.

For the first weekened of March the temperatures are definitely on the cooler side this morning and yesterday they were up to 5-8 degrees lower than expected for this time of year but some sunshine moving in(for two thirds of the country today) should see the mercury slowly climb although it’s likely to feel cool in the wind.

Tonight it is set to be cool to very cool under largely clear skies with the southerly continuing to fade.

Snow about the mountains in the over the Southern Alps over recent days has suggested that Autumn is certainly here and a touch of a frost is possible once the winds fade away tonight.

Story by WeatherWatch.co.nz weather analyst Richard Green