A strong south to southwesterly airflow eases over the upper half of New Zealand on Friday while the South Island has a brief visit from a ridge of high pressure. A front pushes onto the lower South Island in the evening moving northwards overnight.

For the upper North Island expect the odd shower (mainly morning) and sunny spells, winds breezy and cool from the southwest easing later in the day. A similar story for the lower North Island, the east coast sees slightly more frequent showers which clear in the evening. Strong southwesterlies about eastern coastal fringes ease in the evening.

The South Island sees a few morning showers clear in the northeast otherwise mainly sunny with southwesterlies dying out in the morning. Some cloud builds about the lower South Island from afternoon, rain moves into Fiordland in the evening spreading northwards along the West Coast overnight. Only the odd spot of rain makes it over to the east coast with this front.

Not all regions and towns have been mentioned above. For specific 10 day information for your city, town, rural community or island please see the 1500 forecasts on our homepage!

– Aaron Wilkinson, WeatherWatch.co.nz