If you’re heading away this weekend for the last national holiday in almost 5 months you should be prepared for rain, sun, wind and warmth says WeatherWatch.co.nz.

Head weather analyst Philip Duncan says a system brewing in the northern Tasman Sea (that brought the spectacular waterspouts to New South Wales on Monday) is heading towards us – but not before a large high, currently over the country, is finished with us.

“We have windy weather to start with in the north, with rain clouds moving in on Saturday and Sunday across many parts of the country and then winds easing”.

See the official Queen’s Birthday Weekend Forecast, region by region, by clicking here.

Mr Duncan says Queen’s Birthday Monday will see winds turn to “our warmest wind direction”, the North West. “Monday will be a warm day across the country but it could be wet in Otago, Southland, the West Coast, the Nelson Ranges and eastern Bay of Plenty and East Cape with sunny or mostly sunny weather elsewhere”.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says Christchurch should be the driest centre this weekend with Napier and Hastings also fairly dry apart from some light rain on Sunday.

Heaviest rain will be over the West Coast where rain will fall for most of the three days this weekend.

Mr Duncan says other forecasters are saying rain could start in Auckland as early as Friday evening but that data used by WeatherWatch.co.nz still points towards the rain clouds moving in on Saturday afternoon or evening.

“The reason for the differing forecasts is due to the fine line between dry weather and heavy rain. The rain will be pushed up hard against our departing high…if the high weakens, even only by a small amount, it could mean a significant change in the arrival of rain clouds”.

– Homepage image / File, Noelle Bennett

– WeatherWatch.co.nz