Cool start and end to week - with a bit of sun between

"These big heavy showers we've [been] seeing are likely to ease away and the afternoon is looking a lot drier," said weather analyst Philip Duncan. Photo / Duncan Brown

Prepare for a weather sandwich this week, where a clammy period towards the end is book-ended by cooler or unsettled weather.

As Aucklanders wake this morning the remnants of a cooler southwest change will be blowing through.

"These big heavy showers we've [been] seeing are likely to ease away and the afternoon is looking a lot drier," said weather analyst Philip Duncan of weatherwatch.co.nz.

Today's high in the city of sails will be about 15C, although it could feel more like 12C, Duncan said.

"By the time we get to Tuesday, the winds are turning from the southwest back to the northwest."

This warms it up although southwesterlies return on Tuesday night, making it a showery Wednesday before it clears later that day.

Thursday and Friday are looking better before the unsettled weather returns at the weekend.

A feature of the week's weather maps is the high lying to the west of the country. Late last week it was almost 4000km wide and covered Australia. This week it stretches into a different shape but ensures the southwesterlies don't linger too long, Duncan said.

It will be cooler across the rest of New Zealand today as southerlies blow into town.

There will be snow on skifields in both islands and South Island slopes can expect further dustings this week.

"It's great news for skifields and it's great news for holiday-makers. We've got this burst of snow coming but it's not the kind of snow that's going to cause major problems," Mr Duncan said.

As in Auckland, it will be mainly fine on Thursday and Friday before a cold front pushes through.