NYE weather check: Wet and cloudy start to the New Year

Fireworks from Whangarei's celebrations to ring in 2017. Photo / Michael Cunningham

New Year's Eve partiers in Hawke's Bay can celebrate now - they're expected to have the warmest start to the year, while everyone else deals with cloud and some showers.

A low sitting over the Tasman is delivering a mixed bag of New Year weather, with eastern parts of the North Island getting the best of it, and western parts of the South Island getting the most rain.

MetService meteorologist Ciaran Doolan said Hawke's Bay would be the clearest and warmest.

"Probably a lot of other spots will be okay, but there is a lot of cloud around at the moment, with this messy frontal system that's moving pretty slowly in a northeasterly fashion."

While Central Otago, Dunedin and Southland have had rain this afternoon, that's moving north to give Christchurch patchy rain this evening.

The West Coast and Fiordland are getting the worst of the wet weather.

That weather is likely to stick around for the first couple of days of the new year.

"It's just a messy system that's out in the Tasman," Doolan said.

"It's not a particularly deep low, but it's there.

"There will be some change for more rain, by tomorrow afternoon there'll be some showers around the central North Island, too."

Today's outlook for the main centres

Whangarei: Fine spells, cloud increasing. High of 26, low of 18.
Auckland: Fine spells, but cloud increasing. High of 24, low of 18.
Hamilton: Fine at first, but cloud increasing. High of 24, low of 16.
Tauranga: Fine, with high cloud increasing in the evening. High of 26, low of 17.
New Plymouth: Mostly cloudy with a few showers. High of 21, low of 17.
Wellington: Cloud increasing, with showers from this evening. High of 20, low of 16.
Nelson: Cloud increasing, a few showers from afternoon.High of 21, low of 16.
Greymouth: Rain, easing evening, northeasterlies. High of 18, low of 14.
Christchurch: Overcast, showers from evening. High of 25, low of 13.
Dunedin: Occasional rain, clearing evening. High of 21, low of 13.
Queenstown: Occasional rain, clearing by evening. High of 19, low of 10.
Invercargill: Cloudy with occasional rain, clearing to fine in the afternoon. High of 19, low of 8.