A very large area of high pressure is crossing New Zealand for today and Friday and to some degree Saturday too. It will bring mainly calm, dry, weather but a few remaining showers continue in some coastal areas.

It will be a cold night tonight with frosts in the South Island and perhaps some in the north.

But by Sunday and Monday a strong, possibly gale, nor’easter develops with a band of heavy sub-tropical rain slowly sliding southwards.

Next week sees plenty of milder than normal west to north west winds.