West to north-west winds blow through the South Island and lower North Island today bring heavy West Coast rain and thunderstorms. While large parts of the North Island are drier, there is a front clearing today to the east and a few showers possible behind it.

Showers continue off and on this week, especially in western regions of both main islands. Eastern areas are drier and milder than they have been but it may be a bit windy today and there are a couple of colder pulses of air for the lower half of the South Island and out over the Chatham Islands coming in over the days ahead.

We’re also monitoring a low pressure zone developing around the Coral Sea and New Caledonia – most models don’t currently have it forecast to reach NZ but it’s worth keeping an eye on (due to it’s placement), but for now the next large and strong high pressure zone out of Australia is likely to be moving into NZ from the Tasman Sea for the start of next week. We’ll update you tomorrow with the latest.

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