It’s possible eastern NZ will reach 30 degrees this weekend – certainly the mid to late 20s are likely as nor’westers crank up from both Australia and the sub-tropics.

The milder airflows are mixed in with cold fronts from the south though, bringing a truly spring-like weather pattern to the South Island and lower North Island. For northern NZ it will be more settled thanks to high pressure nearby – but may still be a bit cloudy and windy around Auckland. Heavy rain is expected on the West Coast but minimal spillover into other regions – although the lower western North Island (Kapiti to Horowhenua) and Mt Taranaki will likely get some rain.

A few showers may also affect the upper South Island for a time.

Programming Notes:

• We have NO VIDEO on Friday – this is your weekend update. We’ll be back again on Monday with our final ’normal’ week of videos before Christmas.

• After Christmas we’ll be on holiday with limited video updates but are looking to fill the space to some degree.