Conditions will be rough across 2 thirds of New Zealand today as violent spring weather kicks in again.  Gusty nor’westers overnight kept temperatures quite high over eastern areas of the South Island.  Last night it was still 20 degrees in Bleheim and 19 in Christchurch.

Today heavy rain will set in along the West Coast and head north into the ranges of the lower North Island this afternoon or evening.  Severe gales will also blast central and eastern parts of the country, especially the Wellington region.

The Weather Watch Centre predicts winds will gust up to 150km/h in exposed parts of the country such as Stewart Island, the South Island interior and southern tip of Wairarapa but expects populated places won’t receive gusts as high as that.   Yesterday a gust of 150km/h was recorded between Gore and Queenstown.

State owned forecaster MetService is predicting winds gusting to 120km/h in Wellington and has issued a number of rain and wind warnings for the South Island and lower North Island today.

Aucklanders and other regions north of Central Plateau should have a relatively dry day and possibly dry Sunday morning but the nor’westers will pick up giving Bay of Plenty and Gisborne temperatures in the low to mid 20s.

Conditions tonight should be mild nationwide.

We’ll have the latest on the wild weather throughout the day so check back on this story for updates. 

Of course for all the latest on where the rain and showers lie and to help you better plan your time outdoors today make sure you read our Rain Tracker before heading out.  It’s updated during daylight hours across the weekend. Click here or scroll down to read it!