The northern low falls apart entirely by Wednesday afternoon while a new low forms in the Tasman Sea and slowly moves in.

The next low isn’t major but does bring some wet weather back to western NZ and it brings a shift back to westerly winds once it passes. That means a colder change for the lower South Island later this week with a dusting higher up on the ranges and mountains.

Despite the wet weather this week, NZ is gradually becoming drier over the next days.

In Australia dozens of bushfires are now raging as El Nino heat and dry locks in over the continent. The good news is that some downpours are developing this week.