It’s milder than average in most parts of NZ for the next few days but a colder change is coming back to the lower South Island on Thursday and lingering until Saturday.

Elsewhere sub-tropical winds will push temperatures up for the rest of the week in many areas but varying cloud cover means it may be gloomy for some and not overly warm.

The West Coast has a deluge in the days ahead too with over half a metre of rain forecast to fall over the next 72 hours.

Here’s the latest NZ forecast with Philip Duncan…