Rug up as a wet and wintry blast hits much of New Zealand: Niwa

Cold and wintry conditions are set to fall upon New Zealand tomorrow with heavy rain and wind to hit Auckland.

Niwa's forecast video shows rain building in the Tasman Sea before hitting a large swathe of the country's west coast this evening.

The heaviest of the showers will hit Auckland overnight before the front largely passes to the east of the North Island by Friday morning.

Strong wind gusts up to 70km/h will then hit Auckland and much of the upper North Island on Friday morning, and continue into the afternoon.

The South Island and regions near Wellington will be blasted with stronger winds up to 110km/h, with continued rain into Friday afternoon.

The MetService says the cold and wintry conditions will then ease on Saturday as a ridge of high pressure over the Tasman Sea slowly drifts over the country.

The forecaster is tipping Auckland to reach a rainy high of 17C tomorrow, down from a high of 20C today.

Heavy rain and a high of 16C is tipped for Hamilton, while Napier is expecting 19C and rain and Wellington is forecast to reach 14C with severe wind gusts of 120km/h in exposed places.

Clearing showers, strong gales and a top of 13C are forecast for Greymouth in the South Island, while Christchurch is expecting 10C, rain and snow in the Port Hills, and Dunedin is tipped to hit a high of 8C with snow to 200 metres.

With cold conditions across the country, Niwa Tweeted a warning to dress appropriately and check snow conditions along roads through high passes.