Updated 8:34am — A weak area of low pressure over the North Island today will see showers and areas of rain around the entire island – along with plenty of dry spells in between.

The messy, patchy, set up for Wednesday in the North Island comes a day after similar spit and miss rain conditions across parts of the South Island, along with a colder southerly.

Today that colder southerly will affect southern and eastern areas of the North Island especially.  

The change in temperatures means a few thunderstorms are possible for western New Zealand, especially the western North Isand between Taranaki and Auckland.  Hail is also possible with some of the heaviest showers.

By tonight rain or showers at both ends of the North Island will be starting to ease – some regions in between may only have a few spits.  The energy associated with this system is incredibly low, meaning winds won’t be particularly strong across the nation, but may be a little brisk in the upper North Island later in the day.

Thursday sees high pressure spread up from the South Island and into parts of the North Island.  Some early rain or showers may linger in the east, especially around East Cape and Gisborne, then should also clear.

By Friday most of New Zealand should be dry, certainly most main centres anyway.

Apart from the West Coast this coming weekend is looking dry or mainly dry for most of the country with westerlies picking up and lifting temperatures in the east.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz