The golden weather will come to a gradual end Tuesday as a low and associated fronts move in from the Tasman Sea.  

Following three or four sunny, calm and frosty days the temperatures will rise Tuesday evening as a nor’wester slowly builds over New Zealand. 

The main rain band will move into the West Coast today and along the North Island’s northern and western coastline tonight – some isolated falls may be heavy overnight. 

Eastern areas should be mainly dry although some late spits of rain are likely either late Tuesday night or during Wednesday morning.

Rain bands will clear the country during Wednesday with a strengthening and showery westerly flow behind it.  That means frosts aren’t likely for the rest of the week or into next week with higher overnight lows and wind expected in most places.

Unsettled weather may well last through until next week as deep lows swirl south of New Zealand and high air pressure remains firmly in place north of the country – with high air pressure stretching all the way from Perth in Western Australia to Fiji. 

New Zealand will be in the ‘squeeze zone’ between these air pressure systems meaning strong westerlies in the south and lighter winds further north.