'Spring-like' conditions expected this weekend

Rain will ease tonight and give way to a "spring-like" Saturday morning in most parts of the country, forecasters predict.

MetService media and communications meteorologist Dan Corbett said a mild weekend was expected for most of the country, with many places seeing temperatures well into the teens.

Saturday morning was looking dry in most areas with some patchy cloud.

A front over the Tasman sea would bring rain to northern parts of the North Island later in the day, including Northland and Auckland.

But the rest of the country could expect a "cut the grass" day, he said.

The east coast of the South Island was looking especially dry, with temperatures in Canterbury likely to hit 17 degrees tomorrow.

WeatherWatch head weather analyst Philip Duncan said the weekend weather in Auckland would be "changeable".

It was the fourth rainy weekend in a row for the upper half of the North Island, but the weekend would be split in half, with "sunny weather the one day, and wet weather the next".

Rain in Auckland would ease tonight, giving way to a fine Saturday morning - although cloud and showers would roll in later in the day, Mr Duncan said.

"Auckland tomorrow will be like spring. Sunday we've got a cloudy, showery wet day."

The weekend comes after a week of extremes, with temperatures in the high teens in the lower parts of the North Island, and bouts of localised, heavy rain and surface flooding in Auckland.