A new phase of westerly weather is about to move in to New Zealand bringing rain, gales, warmth, cold, snow and sun. Sounds more like spring or autumn than the depths of winter.

Windier weather slowly builds up this weekend and by Sunday will properly cover the country.

We have a number of cold fronts coming in the days ahead, with big rainfall totals on the West Coast but much drier in the east. A colder surge of air on Sunday and into early next week will see heavier snow on the Southern Alps too.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz