A west to northwesterly airflow increases ahead of a southwest front which moves onto the lower South Island late afternoon. This front moves northwards reaching the lower North Island overnight, weakening as it goes. A southwesterly airflow eases on Friday as a large high sits in the Tasman Sea, this high moves over the country on Saturday.

Thursday

Blue – A frosty start for most regions away from the coast, temperatures starting out at -2 to 0 degrees celsius for the inner North Island. Temperatures may dip to -4 degrees for isolated parts of the inner South Island (Pukaki / Twizel comes to mind).

Purple – West to northwest winds build about coastal parts of the lower South Island in the morning, winds may gust to gale through Foveaux strait then changing southwest early afternoon where winds could be strong especially about coastal Otago.

Gusty westerlies build about some central parts of New Zealand in the afternoon, easing overnight.

Friday

Blue – Areas of cloud prevent any reasonable frosts on Friday morning however it may still start the day around 0 degrees for the shaded in areas below. A chance if skies are clear of -2 about Central Otago.

A few showers feed onto the western side of the North Island during the day.

Saturday

Blue – A large high brings mainly settled conditions, a tad cool to start the day for inland areas. No severe frosts, temperatures ranging from +1 to -2 for the shaded areas below.

– Please note, the idea behind this update is to focus on the main weather highlights, which is why not all regions are mentioned. 

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