A frontal zone stays fairly stationary over the North Island on Thursday, slowly moving southwards later in the day. The rest of the country has high pressure.

The North Island is looking cloudy. Rain for much of the upper half with heavy falls possible then easing from afternoon about Northland and later in the evening about Auckland. Areas of rain may not be heavy for all, there is the chance some may only see drizzle. It just depends on exactly how this frontal zone sits over the North Island, a little further east and some areas out west may not see much heavy rain, a little further west and eastern areas may not reap much. Hopefully it’s a situation where it sits right in the middle from Northland down through to the Central North Island bringing some much needed rain for these regions.

Hawkes Bay and Gisborne see the odd drizzle patch then rain moves in late afternoon or evening, possibly becoming heavy. Southern Taranaki through to the Wairarapa is fairly dry with high cloud, the odd shower for northern parts of this area then rain moves in overnight spreading southwards.

The South Island is looking sunny, some high cloud for the upper half of the Island especially about Nelson and Marlborough. East to northeasterly winds freshen up in the afternoon along the east coast. Temperatures may also reach into the mid 20 degree arena for parts of Central Otago in the afternoon.

Blue – Heavy form of precipitation.
Purple – Strong winds.
Yellow – Temperatures around the mid 20 degree mark or over.

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