Changeable, cool conditions and a surprise hailstorm

So far this week has been a little cooler than first expected - although in Auckland it's definitely been the perfect definition of Spring with cold, blustery and showery sou'westers followed by calm, almost hot, sunny spells!

Elsewhere, eastern areas of the North Island have been mostly dry and warm (or hot!). Highs in the low to mid 20s for these areas and around 20 for northern New Zealand too over the past couple of days. Still warmer than average, which is why you've been hearing the word "summer" thrown around a lot lately!

Wellington and the South Island have been far more changeable though. Kaikoura on Monday had a high of 24 but on Tuesday it dropped to 18.

Meanwhile a massive hailstorm on Monday caused major damage to a glass house in Ashburton. Our Ashburton reporter Gareth Thomas has exclusive videos of this hailstorm - you'll find two short videos of it

here

(one of them is embedded below).

It's an amazing piece of footage showing just how loud and big that hail was! TVNZ reported Tuesday night that the damage could go into the millions.

Wellington was also hit by hail on Tuesday as the spring low moved across the country but no reports of any damage.

So what's in store for New Zealand now? Well conditions will improve over the North Island during Wednesday - those sou'westers, which packed a bit of punch on Tuesday, will ease a little but are likely to hang around for another day or two.

The South will have another cold spell move up the island during Wednesday but places further north like Christchurch and Kaikoura will have warm northerlies until that southerly arrives later in the day.

By Thursday conditions look a lot more settled right across the country - but we have another spring storm brewing.

This next storm looks set to gather quite a bit of strength in the southern Tasman Sea before it moves in to the far south on Friday and up into the lower North Island during the weekend. Heavy rain is likely along the West Coast right up into the lower North Island, with gales possible in exposed places from Southland again into the lower North Island.

Strong northerlies with rain or showers are likely by Saturday night or Sunday across Auckland and northern New Zealand - and those strong winds will drive up the temperatures in the east.

I'll have all the details on that system in my next blog on Friday.

Philip Duncan

Pictured above: A hailstorm in Masterton earlier this month (not the same one mentioned above). Photo / Gerald Ford, Wairapa Times-Age.

For the latest weather news keep up to date with The Radio Network's new Weather Watch Centre or the NZ Herald weather section.