After a blustery couple of days the winds take a rest today as high pressure builds over the country.

Gusty conditions have prevailed around Auckland and many eastern areas since about Sunday as a large low in the South Ocean competed with an anticyclone in the Tasman Sea.

Winds will start to shift more northerly in the east today so temperatures will be back on the rise – especially in the South Island where they took a big hit yesterday thanks to that southerly.

Hot spots today will again be Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty with Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Christchurch all returning to the mid to late 20s.

Similar weather is likely on Wednesday.

The long range forecast for Waitangi Day and the weekend is still showing mostly settled weather, especially north of Dunedin.  Windy conditions may prevail in Wellington.  See our long range Waitangi Day forecast below – and starting from tonight we’ll include the national forecast for the entire long weekend, not just Waitangi Day.

The tropics are still bursting full of energy but the low we mentioned the other day is looking increasingly likely to be pushed further east into the Pacific Ocean due to the strong high building over New Zealand.