Weather: Spring showers for most of the country over final days of the season

The final days of spring will be seen out by showers for most of the country.

But even as the weather settles later in the week as we enter summer, forecasters are warning that warmer temperatures aren’t necessarily expected to follow.

A low-pressure system incoming from the west will cause rain to develop in the southern areas of the West Coast of the South Island starting early Tuesday morning.

The system will move northwest up the South Island until it reaches the west of the North Island on Tuesday night, according to MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan.

Corrigan said the heaviest is expected in Westland south of Harihari, where an Orange Heavy Rain Warning is in place.

MetService is forecasting 140 to 180mm of rain to fall about the ranges, with 80 to 120mm nearer the coast.

Heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous, MetService warns.

There are also Heavy Rain Watches for northern Fiordland, northwest Tasman, and Mt Taranaki from when the rain arrives on Tuesday. The warnings are expected to stay in place until the following morning.

On Tuesday, most of the North Island should expect cloudy periods with isolated showers. Scattered showers will become more frequent as the evening progresses.

On Wednesday, it will be similar for both the North and South Islands as the low-pressure system continues to sit across the country, with the possibility of some finer weather in the North later in the evening.

Although the weather is meant to settle as we enter summer on Thursday, this doesn’t mean warmer temperatures will follow.

Corrigan said the showery change to direct southerly winds on Thursday night will make for a cooler-than-average entry to summer for the east of the South Island.

However, high pressure will replace the low in the area, bringing calmer weather as showery southerlies continue in the North.