Unsettled weather continues this week with windy westerlies and passing showers. A brief period of hot weather arrives mid week before a cooler change arrives on Thursday and Friday.

A surge of wind, rain then showers and sun are on the way for the country this weekend and into next week. It's an unsettled forecast across New Zealand for at least the next five days. Driest/warmest in the north east of NZ, wettest on the West Coast and windiest in the east and central areas.

It's felt like summer in many places this week but the next few days get colder in the south and wetter and windier in the north and east. Nothing too dramatic in the forecast but the settled pattern is coming to a temporary end.

This week sees a real variety of temperatures and weather - from highs near 30 degrees to a wet cool southerly - and more heat and sun beyond that.

Thunderstorms are expected to hit some parts of the North Island today and tomorrow before temperatures soar to low-30s in some parts of New Zealand later this week.

The first weekend of December is here and the forecast shows plenty of light winds but also afternoon downpours. Next week rain and some wind returns - but don't fret, high pressure returns later next week across NZ.

A very large area of high pressure is moving in across the entire country. This means calm conditions will prevail for the next several days in most regions.

The signs of summer are among us with pohutakawa trees flowering already and forecasters say the official first day of the season on Thursday will be calm and dry.

Windy weather over the weekend and Monday will gradually ease this week, with high pressure dominating New Zealand by December 1st.

Areas most affected by Monday morning's 7.8 quake have been hit twice as hard throughout the week with gale force winds and torrential rain hampering relief and clean up efforts, but a respite is on the way! Phil Duncan from Weather Watch brings some welcome weather news for the week ahead.

After an exhausting week thanks to Mother Mature we finally have a large high rolling in promising much better weather for quake hit areas and much drier weather for water logged regions.

Following the devastating quakes today all eyes are focused on the weather as gales and heavy rain moves into central New Zealand.

This weekend is a typical spring one with warm weather to begin with in the North Island and a cold or change moving through on Sunday. Most places will see rain or showers even if just briefly, but there will be plenty of dry spells especially in the north. Next week a large low is coming which will bring both warm and cold, rain and wind - and sunny spells too!

The next couple of days look hot over the North Island, especially in the east. Meanwhile a cold front is moving up the country over the weekend.

Typical spring weather is spreading across New Zealand this week with thunderstorms on Monday, cooler weather Tuesday then heat for some on Wednesday and Thursday in the north while it cools down in the south.

Plenty of showers, sun and westerlies are on the way for both islands and both east and west coasts. The bulk of the wet weather is moving in to the West Coast.

November 1st kicks off with a cold front - and it kicks off perhaps over 10 days of this repetitive pattern. Here's the forecast for the week with WeatherWatch.co.nz head weather analyst Philip Duncan.

Labour Weekend is finally here and temperatures take a bit of a dip to begin with on Saturday morning across the country but mild weather returns over Saturday afternoon or into Sunday. High pressure looks set to cover the country with light winds and mainly dry skies - however early showers will be clearing the eastern North Island on Saturday (mainly around Gisborne) while rain clouds approach Fiordland or the West Coast later on Sunday or into Monday.

A burst of warm to hot weather continues to move up the eastern side of New Zealand. Behind this is a cold change with Thursday to Saturday cooler across the nation. Sunday warms up a little ahead of what looks like a low for New Zealand on Labour Day. Most places have about two dry days, with wettest weather around Fiordland and South Westland.

A burst of Australian air is coming to New Zealand and it's already arrived in the east with temperatures climbing into the mid 20s maybe higher. We also take a look at Labour Weekend which shows about 2 dry days and 1 wet one.

We've had cold weather in both islands this week but a new airflow from Australia on Sunday and early next week means daytime highs will push into the late teens and then low to mid 20s. Next week New Zealand is dominated by westerly quarter winds.

A low pressure system is forming over the country this Friday bringing a burst of rain and showers across both islands and maybe into Saturday too. There may be another burst of light snow in the very southern part of the South Island overnight (500m at this stage) but conditions warm up further into the weekend.

In this special weather video we take a look at Hurricane Matthews as it churns towards Florida and the south eastern United States as a major category 4 storm. We also look at New Zealand's weather with a real mixed bag across both islands. Saturday looks mainly dry in the North Island but there's a bit of role reversal happening on Sunday.

Gale westerlies are arriving with thunderstorms and downpours. Amongst the typical spring drama there will also be sunny, dry, spells in the mix. Sunday sees more rain for the North Island but much drier weather for the South Island.

If you're sick of the rain you're not the only one, plenty of New Zealanders are commenting on just how wet it has been lately, however this week the rainmakers shift from East Coast to West Coast. Will we see a number of days with rainmakers moving in but we still have plenty of dry and sunny spells in the mix too. It will also be mild.

We've had a wet week of easterlies, especially in the north. This weekend the winds blow back from the west (by Sunday) with a chance of very localisation flooding as the Aussie storm unravels but leaves warm downpours moving in. By Monday - and especially Wednesday - a strong westerly blast hits with classic windy spring weather coming in.

A large area of low pressure across much of New Zealand is bringing in plenty of low cloud, drizzle and downpours. Winds are almost entirely from the easterly quarter with winds turning more northerly later this week or weekend. Next week sees plenty of westerlies which is a bit of a return to more traditional spring like weather.

Tristram Clayton talks to Philip Duncan from WeatherWatch about the turmoil across the country for the start of the school holidays.

La Niña like conditions are with us already as we see more low pressure over the North Island creating more low cloud, drizzle and areas of rain/shower. Plenty of easterly winds are also in the forecast for the week ahead. Next week also looks a bit unsettled but more so from the west giving the east a break in the damp weather.