Showery and windy start to the week expected

Brace yourself for wet end to the weekend - and start of the new week.

After parts of the country were bathed in sunshine yesterday showers and wind are forecast for much of New Zealand today.

Fronts are moving up the country, bringing rain first to the South Island then across the rest of the country.

Auckland can today expect cloud and occasional showers, particularly around the west coast. There should be a high of 16C.

Hamilton will follow a similar trend, with a high of 15C, while Wellingtonians can look forward to the showers clearing to a fine afternoon and a high of 14C.

The showers and winds are expected to continue into the beginning of next week, MetService meteorologist Claire Flynn said.

Further south, Winter Festivalgoers in Queenstown may get a bit more winter than they bargained for, with MetService putting out snow warnings for parts of the South Island.

Travellers heading to and from the Queenstown Winter Festival today should be aware of snow warnings out for areas including Crown Range Rd, between Queenstown and Wanaka.

Other areas with road snow warnings include the Lindis Pass, Haast Pass, and Milford Rd, which is expected to get 25-35cm of snow.

There are severe weather watches out for heavy rain in Fiordland and Westland, northwesterly gales for Canterbury High Country and heavy snow for Fiordland.

Flynn said snow could fall as low as 200 to 300m in the far south, and to 400m in Queenstown, though that wouldn't effect people at the festival.

Those braving the elements at the final day of the Winter Festival will have a range of activities to choose from.

The Black Seeds play at 3.30pm at the Bath House stage, the Festival Village at Earnslaw Park is open from midday, and the Queenstown Rotary Club Duck Race is being held at Horne Creek at 3pm.

The four-day festival has included a fireworks show, the annual Monteith's Dog Derby, snow tubing, a ball, and performances from Kiwi artists.