A small low moves into New Zealand later today and on Tuesday interacts with an incoming high to create a burst of windy southerlies.

These winds will be strongest through – and around – the Cook Strait area with gusts over 120km/h possible.

Auckland and other areas hugging the western coastline of the upper North Island may also experience gales on Tuesday as the southerly out of Cook Strait heads northwards.

Rain is fairly evenly spread in the days ahead with central NZ most exposed (both western and eastern sides) while the very north and very south of the nation remains fairly dry – including Auckland and Dunedin.