Thursday’s airflow is going to be a warm one for some parts of New Zealand, over 8 degrees above average for inland areas of the central South Island.

With high pressure dominating the country this week the set up on Thursday sees a slightly warmer air flow cross the country – a departure from the cooler southerly flow from last weekend and the very start of this week.

Daytime highs inland will climb into the mid 20s both today and tomorrow through Central Otago and other surrounding inland areas.

In the North Island today is a warm one but Thursday looks even warmer for the lower half of the island. This is why we’re seeing more downpours likely to pop up in the Central North Island on Thursday too.

The rain map below may not be 100% accurate (as big downpours can be very hard to perfectly lock in over an island) but it gives you a general idea as to where the heaviest downpours may pop up (even if not all get rain).

– Maps by The Weather Company (an IBM business & an official WeatherWatch.co.nz partner)

– WeatherWatch.co.nz