Here comes the rain - weather set to turn for North Island

Rain - some heavy and bringing thunderstorms with it - is set to hit the North Island in the next few hours.

However the south of the country will remain mostly fine.

MetService is forecasting showers for most of New Zealand's northern island, with heavy rain and storms on the cards for Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula.

The south will be cloudy but, apart from some patchy rain in Nelson and Marlborough, will see a fine day.

On Monday the North Island will be fine in most areas, but cloudy periods and a few showers will linger in the east and north.

It will be mostly cloudy in Southland and Clutha, with a few showers but mainly fine elsewhere in the South Island, with early frosts.

The outlook for Tuesday is a bit more grim.

In the north, conditions will be partly cloudy with a few showers in the Far North and east.

The weather will be mainly fine elsewhere, with frosts inland.

And in the South Island on Tuesday, life will be mostly cloudy with isolated showers in the southern region, partly cloudy in the west, with the chance of a shower.

Elsewhere, the lower half of the country will be mainly fine with early frosts.