Changeable weather over Easter will likely bring the odd shower but Auckland looks set to be fairly dry, forecasters say.

WeatherWatch analyst Richard Green said the long weekend forecast was "a bit of a messy picture at the moment".

"There'll be sunshine, but the odd shower might interrupt activities for those enjoying themselves outdoors," he said.

The weather would not be particularly wet except for the West Coast, which would get more showers than most, according to head weather analyst Philip Duncan.

"It's certainly looking changeable, but for a lot of us that'll just be clouds coming and going with one or two showers thrown in."

Auckland would be fairly dry, with clouds and a 20 per cent chance of rain over the weekend, while Christchurch would get showers later on.

The weather leading up to Easter was likely to be mostly dry with showers in some areas.

There would be showers or rain on the West Coast, and showers coming and going until tomorrow or Wednesday in the Far North and Gisborne.

Elsewhere, there would be a mix of sunshine and cloudy patches today, with rain in the deep south and showers in Canterbury and Nelson.

Temperatures in most regions were forecast to be mild, with today's highs expected to be in the low to mid 20s, except for areas with showers.

Yesterday, there were highs in the 20s for many areas except the far southwest of the country.

Overnight temperatures were a little higher for the end of March, with a number of centres remaining in double figures across the south.

Dunedin did not drop below 17C and some areas of inland Canterbury did not fall below 20C all night.

- APNZ