Your weather: 'Sunshine and showers' for the north; snow and steady rain in the south

Take care on the roads as showers persist. Photo/ file

Showers are set to linger across the North Island today, especially in the west.

"Sunshine and showers seems to be the order of the week for the North Island, with most of the showers expected in the west," MetService meteorologist John Law said.

A band of steady rain is expected to continue over the upper South Island before easing in the afternoon.

MetService issued a heavy snow watch for inland parts of Nelson and Buller yesterday with warnings of snow to 600 metres. Areas included the Kahurangi and Nelson Lakes National Parks.

The slow-moving front last night was likely to bring snow to the ranges of the top of the South Island, Law said.

Snow fall is softening this morning.

InfoGraphic: The Big Picture for Tuesday https://t.co/J0Cecrz0ih

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) July 23, 2018

For the South Island the combination of cold air and lingering showers continues to bring the risk of snowfall about the higher passes today but a short-lived ridge of high pressure will allow for some drier weather to follow.

Law said the ridge we see on Wednesday was a "blink and you'll miss it" kind of affair.

A messy picture across the center of New Zealand but there is plenty of sunshine for the east coast of the North Island. ^JL pic.twitter.com/nxE3JKBS22

— MetService (@MetService) July 23, 2018

"But as winds swing back round to the north we will see our temperatures pick up a few degrees towards the end of the week."

He said the West Coast was the place to be today with plenty of fine weather in store but hop over to the Southern Alps and clouds linger.

Tracking the southerly on the radar this afternoon, just to the south of Wellington at the moment. https://t.co/tr7q4POIHO ^JL pic.twitter.com/z2vYAeIb4T

— MetService (@MetService) July 23, 2018

Weather by regions:

Whangārei

Fine spells. Chance shower. Westerlies. 14C high, 6C overnight.

Auckland

Cloudy periods and isolated showers. Westerlies. 14C high, 4C overnight.

Hamilton

Cloudy periods. Occasional showers, mainly from afternoon. Light winds. 13C high, 1C overnight.

Tauranga

Fine. Westerly breezes. 14C high, 3C overnight.

Taupō

Cloudy periods and chance shower. Light winds. 10C high, -1C overnight.

Napier

Fine, some evening cloud. Light winds. 13C, 1C overnight.

New Plymouth

Cloudy periods and a few showers. Northwesterlies.

Wellington

Cloudy with occasional rain, chance heavy. Southerlies. 9C high, 7C overnight.

Nelson

Periods of rain. Light winds. 10C high, 4C overnight.

Christchurch

Cloudy. Showers gradually becoming less frequent. Southerlies. 9C high, 2C overnight.

Dunedin

Cloudy periods and a few showers. Easterlies. 8C high, 4C overnight.

Queenstown

Fine apart from morning cloud. Northeasterlies. 8C high, -2C overnight