An anticyclone covers most of New Zealand on Thursday, a cold front moves onto the lower South Island in the morning reaching the upper South Island later in the evening / overnight.

Morning cloud or showers clears the upper North Island on Thursday then mostly sunny, showers ease and clear Gisborne in the afternoon. Morning cloud clears Hakwes Bay then mostly sunny. A sunny day for Wairarapa, Wellington and up through to Taranaki.

Rain or showers (possibly heavy) moves onto the lower South Island during the morning, showers move into Canterbury later in the evening. Canterbury has a mostly sunny day overall, Nelson and Marlborough have sunny days also.

By Weather Analyst Aaron Wilkinson – WeatherWatch.co.nz