Weather woes to continue with more drizzle next week

Scattered showers and patches of rain are forecast for next week - a welcome relief after the hammering the country took on Thursday and Friday.

Patchy rain and cloud cover was also forecast for much of the country today.

A few showers were expected tomorrow and Tuesday in the North Island, and to the west of the South Island.

"There is a slow moving front that comes in from the west during the week," MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said.

In the south, the rain would move east before clearing by the middle of the week, and in the mid to lower North Island scattered showers were predicted from Wednesday onward.

However the wet would be nothing like what was seen earlier this week, when severe downpours caused flooding in some areas and strong winds.

"There is a chance of heavy rain in Westland on Tuesday but that's pretty standard for them," Glassey said.

By Wednesday most of the rain should be confined to central New Zealand - the top half of the South Island and the mid to lower half of the North Island.

Today, a low-risk thunderstorm outlook and chance of heavy rain was in place for Coromandel Peninsula south of Tairua and the Bay of Plenty west of Whakatane until noon.

Most of the country was forecast to have a partly sunny day marred by cloud and drizzle.

Today's Forecast

Whangarei: Cloud clearing to a sunny day. Southwest breezes. High 24C.

Auckland: Mainly fine, chance morning and afternoon showers. Southwesterlies. High 23C.

Hamilton: Morning cloud with the chance of a shower, then fine. Light winds, southwesterlies from afternoon. High 23C.

Tauranga: Showers, some possibly heavy morning, clearing evening. Southeast turning southwest by afternoon. High 21C.

Napier: Fine, apart from morning and evening cloud. Southwest dying out morning. High 21C.

Wellington: A few early showers, then fine. Evening high cloud. Southerly, turning northerly morning. High 19C.

Nelson: Fine spells, a few morning showers. Light winds. High 23C.

Greymouth: Fine, cloudy periods from afternoon. Southwesterlies developing afternoon. High 21C.

Christchurch: Fine. High cloud developing afternoon. Southwest turns northeast afternoon. High 22C.

Queenstown: Fine. Cloud increasing this afternoon, chance rain at night. Northeasterly developing morning. High 23C.

Dunedin: Cloud increasing. A few spots of rain from afternoon. Southwesterlies. High 23C.