Wet weather isn't going anywhere fast - in fact it could linger until Sunday

Say goodbye to summer as autumn greats us with cloud, drizzly rain and cold winds. Photo / 123RF

A low to the west of New Zealand isn't going anywhere fast - in fact it could stick around until Sunday, with the remnants lingering into next week.

WeatherWatch.co.nz head forecaster Philip Duncan said the low would push a lot of cloud across the country in the coming days.

"We farewell summer and say hello to autumn this week on a cloudy, mild note as this low spins like a tyre stuck in mud, not going anywhere".

The low would linger off the west of the country until Sunday, peaking in strength today and Wednesday then slowly weakening through until the end of the weekend, Duncan said.

"This low will encourage a cloudy north to northeast flow over both islands and will bring a mixture of drizzle, dry spells and downpours with our mountain and ranges breaking up the wet weather even further".

Low pressure just west of NZ could linger for a week. Map / WeatherWatch.co.nz

MetService meteorologist Amy Rossiter said the slow-moving front was lying over Waikato and Coromandel this morning, bringing low cloud and patchy drizzly rain for areas from Auckland to Taranaki.

She said the front would slowly sink south today and spread rain into Whanganui, Manawatu and then finally into Wellington this evening.

"As this feature sinks south, the top corner of the South Island will get some rain, so the Nelson and Buller regions, and then further down to Westland and the Canterbury high country this evening."

Rossiter said the front would also bring some very strong easterly gales to the Stephens Marine area, Cook Strait and the top of the Golden Bay area.

Temperatures will turn significantly cooler on the eastern side of the South Island due to these winds.

There will be plenty of dry spells but some areas may have a line of showers, especially in northern or western facing areas.

Further north and the far south are looking drier with areas of sun.

Later in the week, there is a small chance of rainfall reaching warning criteria in Westland, Buller and parts of Nelson.