Rain and showers are falling across a few regions as of 9am Thursday.

Rain is falling around the Gisborne area with showers in Hawkes Bay.  There are a couple of showers around Northland and eastern Bay of Plenty otherwise the rest of the upper North Island is dry.  The lower North Island is also mainly dry, although showers are now pushing into southern Wairarapa and Wellington area.

Showers are currently affecting dry parts of Canterbury, some downpours are pretty decent for those who need rain – but only about 20% of the region should get a solid downpour, the other 80% of Canterbury will see only a few light showers easing today.

A few more showers are affecting Southland too and a few on the West Coast.

Showers will ease today in most places – just a few will linger around East Cape and Gisborne on Friday morning.

A high pushes in across New Zealand during Friday, with the most settled weather over the South Island.

The high is short lived – Rain returns to New Zealand on Saturday night and Sunday.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz