Serving up a fine spell

Those heading out in the top half of the North Island should opt for a rain coat today and shorts tomorrow as the last spell of rain and thunderstorms is set to pass through, bringing a clear Sunday, like the rest of the country.

MetService meteorologist John Law said a big area of high pressure from the Tasman Sea would bring a fairly settled spell of weather tomorrow, Monday and through next week.

Spots of rain in Auckland yesterday had volunteer ball kids helping out with drying the courts at the ASB Classic.

More showers were forecast for the city today with a risk of heavy showers and even thunderstorms.

There would be heavy individual bursts and downpours were not out of the question, Law said.

“These should ease out by the evening.”

Thunderstorms were forecast for the top half of the North Island today, particularly in the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel and Hawke’s Bay.

“If you do catch some of the showers, they could be as much as 10-25mm of rainfall in some of those spots, likely in the afternoon and evening.”

For the southern half of the North Island, early showers were forecast to clear away this morning, meaning fine spells were in store.

“This fine spell of weather should continue into next week for the capital,” Law said.

Meanwhile, sunny and settled weather was forecast for the South Island today, tomorrow and into next week.

“Any early light showers around Canterbury and Marlborough should clear away quickly this morning, and for most of the island, it’s looking fine, clear and sunny.

“As we head towards tomorrow, there will be areas of cloud coming and going, but Monday and the rest of the week, the South Island will be a pretty decent spot to be.”

As for temperatures, the lower part of the North Island could be a little cooler than elsewhere, with highs forecast around 16C, but this should jump to around 21C on Sunday.

Auckland was forecast to have temperatures of 23C throughout the weekend.

Law said the humidity of the last few weeks was likely to clear once the showers moved away.

In the South Island, places like Kaiko¯ura should see temperatures reach 18C tomorrow and climb higher on Sunday.

Photos / Hayden Woodward Emma Navarro, of the US, smashes against Petra Martic at the ASB Tennis Classic quarter-finals. Left, Ball kids help dry out the court.