Thursday and Good Friday will see high pressure crossing the country bringing mostly calm conditions to both main islands.

However a cold front which earlier in the week brought heavy rain to the West Coast is trapped under this high and is falling apart, delivering a lot of cloud to the North Island and a few showers and isolated downpours.

As New Zealand goes into Good Friday the large high will remain in place continuing the mainly light winds over the country. The front over the North Island should track further out to the east and may still leave a remaining shower and a fair bit of northern cloud in some places.

Sunny spells should increase in the North Island as Friday goes on and we head towards Saturday.

Later on Good Friday in the South Island clouds may increase in the south west corner with rain moving into Fiordland and winds picking up at night, possibly to gale force in the mountains as a cold front approaches for Saturday bringing a significant change in weather to the West Coast, Southern Alps and Southland. If heading out camping or tramping it’s one to closely monitor.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz