Brace yourselves for a Bledisloe downpour

But the good news is the worst of the wet weather should have passed by late afternoon in the Auckland region, leaving only a few showers and a light wind behind. Photo / Doug Sherring

If you're heading to the big game tonight don't forget to bring your raincoat, as showers are forecast into this evening.

But the good news is the worst of the wet weather should have passed by late afternoon in the Auckland region, leaving only a few showers and a light wind behind.

The forecast isn't looking so hot for the rest of the country however, with watches and warnings for heavy rain out for many places along the east coast of the country.

"The story for Saturday is a story of showers, there's lots of showers going across the country with the majority of the wet weather falling in the east," Emma Blades, MetService meteorologist, said.

A heavy rain warning is in place for the Kaikoura Ranges, from today through to tomorrow, with a number of areas under a watch for heavy rain, including Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa, Marlborough, Canterbury, Southland, southern and eastern Otago, especially Clutha and Dunedin where heavy falls are expected from this afternoon, as well as snow down to 400m this evening, Ms Blades said.

"So it's kind of a heads up to people to keep an eye on the forecast, if those rainfalls do start to approach warning criteria."

Auckland will see showers throughout the day, including some this evening during the highly anticipated Bledisloe Cup decider at Eden Park.

"The majority of those showers should ease in the late afternoon, however there is a chance of an odd shower during the match," Ms Blades said. "So definitely worth taking a raincoat.

"Looking at temperatures, around 11C or 12C for Auckland for 7pm. The winds aren't too bad though - southwesterlies, but they're not too strong, so it shouldn't add too much to the wind-chill factor."

The rain showers would continue into tomorrow for most of the country, Ms Blades said, "although a little bit less than today".

"But again in the east they're getting the majority of that rain, the likes of Dunedin, Canterbury, Otago, up through to the Kaikoura coast and again in Wairarapa, Hawke's Bay, they're getting quit a bit of rain.

"Looks like it's going to be showery again for Auckland tomorrow."