High air pressure will bring a return to settled weather this week according to the Weather Watch Centre. 

Head weather analyst Philip Duncan says the anticyclone will bring hot days, cooler nights and dry weather to almost all of New Zealand.  “This is a nice big summer high…it moved in during Sunday kicking Friday and Saturday’s storm out into the Pacific and should last much of the week”.

“Clear skies and lower humidity means sunny, hot days and slightly cooler nights – good news for those who can’t sleep with higher humidity”.

Mr Duncan says the high will be felt in most places, but especially the North Island.

“As we move towards the end of the week a low south of the country will push against the lower South Island – that’s likely to bring sweltering nor’westers to the east and heavy rain again for the West Coast”.

The Weather Watch Centre has also noticed a slight increase in unstable conditions north of New Zealand.  It says when the high finally leaves New Zealand, perhaps this weekend, it could open the way for more showers and humid weather from the north.

“It’s definitely a wait and see game…but the sub-tropics are getting more active now, as you’d expect as we get nearer to the middle of the cyclone season when seas in the South Pacific are at their warmest”.