Although we had a slight reprieve from relentless showers or rain over the country during the weekend, another system is set to move in today.

For those living in the far north, it appears your seeing it first and as it gradually heads southwards cloud and rain should have occurred almost everywhere by midnight tonight.

There’s a chance some of the rain will be heavy in the west and north but by this evening in the far north there should be an easing.

Eastern parts of the South Island appear to be in the firing line for a considerable fall of rain this week with potentially some heavy localised falls hanging around on Tuesday and Wednesday with snow levels dropping inland.

There’s a chance of up to a good couple of inches(50-60mm) of rain for the Canterbury Plains for the whole of the rainy episode.

Further south some rain or showers are likely however yet again the heaviest falls appear to be drifting north, after a succession of systems have failed to deliver much needed rain for the far south.

The good news is that towards the end of the week, prospects of sunshine are greater for most areas however some showers will still be difficult to try and shrug off.