Rain following the cricket, Wings Over Wairarapa

Young spectator in the rain, Napier Port Ocean swim, Ahuriri, Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland

Cricket fans and organisers Wings over Wairarapa will be looking nervously at the skies today as bad weather threatens to scuttle two of summer's most anticipated events.

The Black Caps are set to open their ODI series against South Africa in Hamilton today, weather permitting.

But Metservice meteorologist Tom Adams said Hamilton would see occasional showers in the afternoon an evening.

"There's a good chance they'll be heavy and a moderate chance they'll be thundery," he said.

"It won't be too windy and it will, because of this moist air, still be quite warm -- maximum 26C."

Further south, organisers of Wings over Wairarapa also face an anxious weather watch.

The opening day of the event was cancelled yesterday due to poor weather. Organisers said they will make a decision on the scheduled second day of the event this morning.

Adams said the showers looked set to continue in the region today.

"In the afternoon especially there's a chance one or two of them will be heavy, but hopefully not as bad as in Hamilton - the main thunderstorm risk is further north," he said.

"There's quite a moist air mass over the country, which is giving us the ingredients for these heavy showers and thunderstorms we've been seeing. That is set to continue [today]."

In Christchurch, where residents are crying out for rain to put out the hugely destructive fires in the Port Hills, there could be a few showers in the morning but it was mostly looking like a fine day.

"It looks like best chance of showers will be around Thursday," Adams said.

Next week would be "hit and miss" for the country, with some rain in the west, but mostly a dry week for the North Island. The South Island see another front moving in from Tuesday.