Wet start to school holidays
Rain for the top of the North Island and western areas of the South Island will contribute to unsettled weather for the first week of school holidays.
A low pressure system, coming from northwest of the country, is expected to bring heavy rain and strong wind to Northland and potentially Auckland and the Coromandel as it shifts eastward.
MetService forecaster Aidan Pyselman said Gisborne and other eastern areas of Te Ika-a-Ma¯ui/North Island should expect rain by tomorrow or Tuesday.
Auckland should get an early shower today as a warning for rain developing from late afternoon alongside strong easterlies.
Intermittent rain was expected for tomorrow with strong to gale southeasterlies.
Today and tomorrow should see a high of 13C and a low of 7C overnight. The rain was set to clear by Tuesday and conditions should improve later in the day and into Wednesday.
The chill will be felt across the country in the coming days with colder than normal temperatures for this time of year anticipated.
Tekapo¯ claimed the coldest spot yesterday morning with -7. Manapouri and Timaru were close behind with -5 and -4 respectively.
Looking ahead, inland areas of Te Waipounamu (South Island) would see frosty conditions with Alexandra, Wanaka and Queenstown at risk of severe frosts.
Come Wednesday, developing northwesterlies should bring heavy rain for Fiordland, which could move north up the west coast during Thursday.
A high pressure system near the top of the country should see settled conditions in northern areas of the North Island.