A low from Sydney is deepening in the Tasman Sea today and as it moves closer to the South Island the winds between it and a large high north of the country increase. It’s making for a mild day in the north and east, a windy day in the south and rain is moving into the entire western coastline.

Winds over 100km/h have affected Dunedin knocking trees and some powerlines down.  WeatherWatch.co.nz says while it’s a blustery day in the city the winds aren’t likely to increase any more with the windy energy spreading out further across the country and peak intensities dropping a little into tonight.

Wellington will see winds increase today as will most North Island regions.

By midnight tonight the centre of the low will be over the top of Central Otago. Yesterday the centre of the low was over Sydney.

Rain has been falling in western areas of the South Island and while the Southern Alps have shredded the rain clouds some falls are making it over into dry eastern areas – but it’s very hit and miss.

As of 2pm the bulk of the rain was moving into the North Island’s western coastline and will set in across the afternoon.

The large high north of New Zealand is again working to scoop up subtropical air from New Caledonia area and pushing it down over some northern areas. The wind flow is helping push temperatures in Northland into the early 20s, with a spread of 18 to 23 degrees across the region today.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz