Eastern areas are sweltering under temperatures set to nudge – or even top – 30C as nor’westers drag hot air across parts of the country.
Christchurch is forecast to reach 30C today and was already at 27C around 11.30am, and with cooler, wetter weather coming for the city and other areas, people should make the most of it, MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon said.
“Twenty-seven degrees, that’s pretty hot for late morning. I’d be surprised if they didn’t crack 30C. They could even get a little bit higher than that.”
Summer temperatures are also forecast in Timaru (26C), Ashburton (28C). Blenheim (28C), Masterton (29C), Hastings (27C), Napier (25C) and Gisborne (29C) as the northwesterly wind flow brought hot, dry conditions, Wotherspoon said.
🌡️ Friday will be a warm day across most (but not all) of NZ.
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) November 20, 2025
The east of both islands will be warmest, with widespread temperatures in the late 20s, and a chance for 30°C. 🥵
However, the lower South Island will be the outlier, with temperatures only reaching the teens. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/ULhTQRkj0o
Fine weather was expected across much of the country today, and with above average temperatures for some – including a sun-soaked Auckland, where a high of 24C is forecast today.
“There is a possibility of a shower for northern parts of Auckland and Northland this afternoon … and over the South Island we have a front moving very slowly northwards over the island.”
A heavy rain watch was in place for Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound until tonight, and it’d be wet on the West Coast of the South Island, Wotherspoon said.
Ata mārie, good morning! ☀️🌦️
— MetService NZ (@MetService) November 20, 2025
As a front creeps north over the South Island today, bringing heavy rain to Fiordland, strengthening winds drive hot and dry northwesterlies for eastern areas - Christchurch has a forecast high of 30°C! 🌡️📈
🔗 https://t.co/Yjbq0jgaoz pic.twitter.com/Ic5NfZkicf
Unfortunately the weather deteriorates for some over the weekend, with a southwesterly bringing cooler temperatures, including 17C and some morning and afternoon showers forecast for Christchurch tomorrow.
“A lot of those places that are quite hot today, it’ll be quite a jump down. It’s just going back into slightly cooler than average for the time of year, it’s not like we’re getting a really cold southerly coming through.
“So it’ll be a bit of a cooler, rainier, cloudier day over the South Island.”
In the North island, cloudy, rainy weather sitting north of the country was expected to dip south, affecting Northland, Auckland and Bay of Plenty, Wotherspoon said.
Auckland would be partly cloudy, with the chance of a shower and a high of 24C tomorrow, she said.
“[There’ll] be some showers, possibly even a little bit heavier tomorrow … we’ve got a moderate risk of thunderstorms in inland Northland.”
Cloudy periods and isolated showers, mainly in the north and east where they may be heavy and thundery, was forecast in the North Island on Sunday.
Showers in the south were expected to spread to Canterbury in the afternoon, but it would be mainly fine elsewhere.
“And then we’ve got a more genuine cold front moving sort of quickly up the east coast of the South Island [overnight] Sunday. It brings a quite rainy night and quite a dip in temperatures for them as well.
“There’s a forecast high of 15C for Christchurch on Monday.”
However, while wet weather would be a feature of the weekend, it wouldn’t be bad for everyone all the time.
Wellington should be mostly dry with temperatures in the high teens, and Hamilton and Tauranga fine and warm.
“We are probably going to look at a deterioration of the weather through the week next week”, Wotherspoon said.
“So, definitely make the most of it.”