Showers settle in for school holidays

Catch the sun when you can, as unsettled weather looks set to continue until the end of the school holidays.

The MetService is forecasting a cloudy day today in Auckland, with showers tonight and tomorrow morning and some heavy and thundery showers from the Waikato to Taranaki.

After a mostly fine day tomorrow, the outlook for the second week of the school holidays is more cloudy days with a few showers, leading into possible heavier rain next weekend.

However the weather remains slightly warmer than Auckland’s April average of 20C, with highs of 21C today and 19C or 20C every day this week except Monday, when the maximum may dip to 18C.

Things are looking better in Tauranga and Whangarei with a cloudy weekend lined up with a few showers but clearing over the rest of the week so it will be mainly fine before the rain returns next weekend.

Showers are also forecast today in the west and south of the South Island, but it will be mostly fine in the middle of the country.

MetService meteorologist Sarah Haddon said a west-southwesterly flow would cover the country for most of the next week.

“In those southwesterlies the general trend for the week is that it’s showery on the west and relatively fine in the east. Areas like Fiordland are going to be wetter than other areas,” she said.

Today and tomorrow a front moves up the country that will bring some showers to the east as well as the west.

“On Monday it will be fine in the east again. Then we expect another front to move up the South Island on Tuesday and on to the North Island on Wednesday, bringing showers to the east.”

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) forecasts above-average temperatures in all regions through the autumn, as the warm ocean waters around the country are forecast to persist through the next three months.

“Even though seasonal-average temperatures are very likely to be above normal, frosts will occur in cooler locations as late autumn progresses,” it said.