Two jolly days, one brolly day for holidays

Two out of three ain’t bad.

That’s what Kiwis can expect from their Labour Weekend weather — two good days and one average day, WeatherWatch head analyst Philip Duncan says.

A high is sandwiched between two bouts of inclement weather, the first due to blow through late today and the later to arrive overnight on Tuesday.

“Everywhere is going to have a couple of really good days and one average one . . . the weekend starts off with a slight southerly change, making for a chilly Saturday morning for some places . . . there may be some frosts for sheltered inland areas around northern Southland and Central Otago.

“Warmer weather returns during Sunday and Monday.

“As we say just about every single year, we usually have two settled days and one unsettled one for most regions, as is the nature of spring.”

There was no standout location, but the Bay of Plenty and Taupo could clear to a nice weekend after downpours and thunderstorms cleared tonight.

Canterbury could also be warm at times, he said.

Most places would be dry for much of the holiday weekend, with showers only likely around Gisborne or East Cape tomorrow and rain from Fiordland possibly rolling northwards into South Westland on Sunday.

High pressure would dominate the entire North Island on Sunday, Duncan said. “Apart from cloudy areas, the day is calm and settled and dry and milder than Saturday was. In the South Island it's a fairly dry and settled day too, with northerly quarter winds developing in most regions and dry in the east.”

By the end of the long weekend, a low from the Tasman Sea is expected to move in and bring with it plenty of cloud across the country and rain or showers for the northern and western regions of the North and South Islands.