Wintry conditions have returned to some regions today with heavy, squally showers blasting the western side of New Zealand while the sun returns to those in the south, thanks to a slight shift back to westerlies for today.

On Wednesday, the coldest portion of the weather will move in dropping temperatures again in the south and bringing snow to just 100 or 200m.

Over Thursday and Friday, we transition away from this colder wind flow and into milder nor’westers.

The weekend looks warmer than average in a number of regions with heavy rain returning to the West Coast and gales possible in the upper South Island and Cook Strait area by Sunday.