A large anticyclone starts to shunt eastwards on Thursday letting in a north to northwesterly airflow over the South Island.

Mostly sunny for the North Island on Thursday, some morning cloud possible mainly in the northeast. Risk of an isolated shower late afternoon / evening about inland parts of the lower North Island otherwise mainly dry. Mostly sunny for the South Island with areas of high cloud, cloud gradually thickens about Fiordland with a few showers there later in the evening.

By Weather Analyst Aaron Wilkinson – WeatherWatch.co.nz