High pressure, which has been stuck in the south-eastern corner of Australia for a couple of weeks, will finally move into northern NZ for this long weekend, but the northern placement means a nor’west wind will build over the South Island and Cook Strait area as it arrives.

This means milder air will be pushing into the lower South Island on Thursday and then spreading further up the country on Friday and Saturday, lifting temperatures considerably in some places by over 10 degrees.

The high will bring lighter winds to northern NZ – and may drag in a fair bit of cloud from the Tasman Sea, but eastern areas should be sunnier.

Our weather video is back today and we’ll be covering the weather forecast for the upcoming long weekend.

🌡️Slightly milder airflows are building in the lower South Island over Thursday. In fact Friday and Saturday will be even warmer across the South Island as a nor'wester kicks in.

Minimum temperatures (at any point) across Thursday: pic.twitter.com/jwVjGJI2Fw

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) May 29, 2024

The Big Picture: #Australia finally has a cold front replacing high pressure in the south … and that high pressure zone is moving towards northern #NewZealand. Note the cloud moving in with the western half of the high on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/tpw2axDA11

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) May 29, 2024

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