Our third large low in just a week or two is moving in and will bring rain, heavy downpours and help create inland afternoon thunderstorms over the days ahead.

The bulk of the rain is focused on the upper North Island, regions like Bay of Plenty, eastern Coromandel and the Bay of Islands are candidates for sub-tropical rain. Further south and Central Plateau and the entire Southern Alps as far south as Fiordland/western Southland ranges may get very heavy afternoon downpours coupled with warmer than average weather and the chance of thunder.

By next week NZ returns to westerlies as a potential cyclone develops in the Coral Sea – at this stage it poses no threat to New Zealand but is in an area worth monitoring.