Weather: South Island the place to be this weekend

Country road between Queenstown and Glenorchy. Photo / Thinkstock

The South Island is the place to be this weekend, according to weather forecasters.

MetService meteorologist John Law said unsettled weather was expected in parts of the North Island but it would be mostly warm and dry in the south.

"Saturday won't be too bad for the majority of the North Island but a front will come later on which will push cloud up the far north," he said.

"On Sunday the low pressure will move across the island bringing wet weather for Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel."

The outlook wasn't as bad further south, he said.

"Both days look like they'll be dry in the South Island, particularly on the West Coast.

"On Sunday, there'll be cloud above the ranges of the northern parts of the island, which could bring a few isolated showers inland but on the whole, the island will be fine and dry."

The area of low pressure would disappear on Monday but with another one waiting in the wings, wet weather could continue in the far north of the country next week, he said.

Weekend outlook

Whangarei:Cloudy with rain developing late tomorrow and becoming more persistent on Sunday. Wind will change to a freshening easterly.

Auckland: Will start out well tomorrow and then turn cloudy through the night. Showers are expected tomorrow night and Sunday.

Hamilton: Fine tomorrow. Cloud will thicken up during the day on Sunday, which may bring rain later in the day.

Tauranga: Spells of sunshine tomorrow. Sky will turn increasingly cloudy later in the day, changing the wind to a northeasterly and bringing rain on Sunday.

Wellington: Fine tomorrow. High cloud on Sunday but will stay dry most of the day.

Christchurch: Easterly wind. Cloudy late tomorrow, perhaps with spots of drizzle or rain. Fine on Sunday.

Dunedin: Areas of cloud tomorrow. Sunday fine with north easterly developing later on and evening cloud.