Blue skies, light winds, warm days, cool nights – sounds like an Autumnal paradise but it’s not the case for all New Zealanders this Wednesday.

A weak front in the South Island means rain or showers for the West Coast while cloudy skies may affect other regions throughout the day, mainly coastal areas.

Through Cook Strait winds from the south east will steadily build today – that could make for a slightly windy afternoon in some parts of Taranaki.  Winds may also build through the Central North Island and in some eastern coastal areas of the North Island,

But the high is still firmly in charge and for Thursday and Friday it will continue to strengthen over New Zealand – bringing stunning Autumn weather to many regions well into the weekend.

However a question mark still remains on a possible tropical cyclone next week .

The high that is currently over New Zealand will play a key role in the path of this storm. 

Some models show the high firmly in charge and the low skirting around the northern fringes of it well to the north of New Zealand, while other models show the high departing to the east on Monday – allowing the tropical storm to swoop into the Tasman Sea and upper North Island.

We’ll have extensive details on the predicted tropical cyclone – and its path – later today.

– Homepage image / Autumn, Debbie Houlahan

– WeatherWatch.co.nz