Wet weather heralds the start to the weekend in Northland

Last days of school holidays in Northland will likely be spent indoors as wet weather is forecast to herald the start to this weekend.

MetService said rain and showers would dominate the region until late Saturday due to a front moving from west to east over the upper North Island.

Meteorologist Mark Bowe said it would not be the best start to the weekend for Northlanders but the weather should change for the better from Sunday onwards.

This morning should be cloudy followed by isolated showers turning to rain the afternoon. Bowe said thunderstorms were also forecast for Northland this evening.

Tomorrow, southerlies will turn to strong westerlies with periods of rain the whole day while the wind will turn southerly with widespread showers in the afternoon.

"It's quite a complex frontal system for Northland from Thursday through to Saturday and showers are expected to clear on Saturday evening. Sunday should be fine with southerlies gradually easing," Bowe said.

"There are three individual parts within a complex weather system for Northland heading into the weekend. There's an active front, strong westerlies with showers turning to rain then there's another front moving in from the south on Saturday."

Temperatures will plummet heading into the weekend.

A daytime temperature of 19C is forecast for today, 16C tomorrow, dropping to 13C on Saturday and slightly up 14C on Sunday.

Overnight lows will be between 11C and 13C.

"There'll be a couple of wet days ahead... not the best start to the weekend," Bowe said.

Similar weather will be experienced in Auckland and the Coromandel this weekend.

Temperatures in the South Island will likely plummet as the icy southerly storm rips through.