Rain and gales set to return for much of NZ

Heavy rain and severe gales are possible for parts of the country. Photo / Thinkstock

Make the most of today - it could be the best weather you see all week.

Temperatures dipped as rain and gales swept the country earlier this week - with some areas clocking winds of up to 140km/h - but the front causing the cold has now moved off the country.

Today looked dry and settled for most of the country, MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said.

The worst of it looked like cloud forecast for western parts of the country, but it would be mostly fine in the east, he said.

Temperatures would also be returning to normal after a cold nip following the front, with some eastern areas getting up to more than 20C.

"There are some chilly temperatures around this morning, but they should return to normal this afternoon," Mr Glassey said.

"It's looking like a dry day for the majority of the country."

Westerlies would start to pick up on Friday with rain spreading into the south-west of the country as another front moves in, he said.

Heavy rain could be possible for Southland, Westland and Fiordland with severe gales in eastern parts of the South Island as well, but MetService has not issued any warnings at this stage.

The front would ease as it moved up the country, Mr Glassey said, but could bring showers and rain to some of the North Island.

Auckland could expect a cloudy and breezy weekend with a few showers expected on Sunday, he said.

"By the time it gets to the North Island there's not a lot of rain with it.

"There will be a little bit of rain in the west of the North Island late Saturday and into Sunday, but not huge amounts, just light rain," Mr Glassey said.

WeatherWatch head analyst Philip Duncan said the high over a number of regions today would be "short-lived".

A spring front would bring heavy rain to the South Island from tomorrow but would be fast moving enough not to cause too many headaches for people on the West Coast, he said.

The upper North Island would see the most settled weather this weekend, he said.

Main Centres Forecast:

• Whangarei: Fine spells today, southwesterly breezes. High 18C, low 11C. Cloudy periods on Friday. High 19C, low 11C.

• Auckland: Today will see cloudy periods and southwesterlies. High 16C, low 11C. On Friday, more cloud and southwesterlies. High 16C, low 12C.

• Hamilton: Mainly fine but morning and evening cloud. High 19C, low 7C. Friday will see cloud and freshening southwesterlies. High 17C, low 10C.

• Tauranga: Fine today with light winds. High 20C, low 10C. More fine spells on Friday with westerlies developing. High 19C, low 10C.

• Wellington: Fine with a developing northerly. High 16C, low 10C. On Friday it's fine, with northerlies strengthening. High 17C, low 11C.

• Christchurch: Mainly fine, morning cloud. High 15C, low 4C. Tomorrow will be fine and warm with northwest winds developing. High 22C, low 10C.

• Dunedin: Today will see fine weather with westerlies turning northeast. High 17C, low 9C. Friday is fine and warm. High 22C, low 8C.

Source: MetService