Updated 8:10am — If you’re trying to make plans for Waitangi Day the forecast looks a little unsettled for some places but generally speaking Thursday should be mostly dry with the sun returning for many.

A large high will be centred south west of Fiordland – meaning the southerly flow ahead of it will still be blowing across the South Island and lower North Island (this cool to cold change arrives today in the South Island).

On Waitangi Day Thursday expect those cool winds to ease from Dunedin up to Christchurch with sunny weather increasing as that high slowly moves in (pushing Wednesday’s cold snap out east over the Pacific). Daytime highs in these main centres will be in the mid to late teens on Thursday.

Wellington originally had one of the least favourable main centre forecasts but the latest data supports an even drier day now, still with brisk southerlies which will ease back, but it’s likely to be mainly dry.  Wellington has a high of 17.  If you want warmer, sunnier, weather head over to Kapiti or up to Manawatu where highs will be in the low 20s.

Further north and that southerly change has far less impact.  

South east winds tend to bring sunny weather to western, northern and central parts of the North Island – and in summer it can make for even hotter weather.  There may be some morning clouds but the main centres of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga all look mostly dry, hot and fairly sunny with highs in the mid 20s on Waitangi Day.

As for Waitangi itself, winds may be more easterly with the risk of a shower coming in, otherwise mainly dry and warm.  The shower risk also exists just north of Auckland, with that same easterly flow coming in from the Pacific.

– Homepage image / Roderick Davison

– WeatherWatch.co.nz