An anticyclone sits to the north of New Zealand on Wednesday, and meanwhile we have a breezy northwesterly airflow lying over the country.

These winds will blow through both straits, likely strongly, with the strongest winds coming through Cook Strait.

Skies out west are mostly cloudy with the chance of a morning shower in the west of the North Island, before drying out.
The west of the South Island has patchy showers or drizzle for much of the day, which turns to rain about South Westland in the evening, then moving further north overnight.

Out east, skies are mostly sunny with some high cloud possible especially about the lower South Island, while temperatures in the east are high once again.

– Aaron Wilkinson & Drew Chappell, WeatherWatch.co.nz