Covid 19 coronavirus: Wild weather - Thunderstorms forecast for first weekend of level 3

Wild weather including thunderstorms is set to put a dampener on the first weekend of alert level 3.

MetService expects heavy rain, cold temperatures and storms to hit much of the country come Sunday, after a fine few days.

"With a couple more days of fine weather ahead it's a good idea to clear any gutters or drains as many places will see a spell of heavy rain over the weekend," said meteorologist Lewis Ferris.

A severe weather forecast will likely be issued for the West Coast of the South Island with at least 100mm to fall at the weekend, with some areas looking to receive double or triple that.

Much of the country will receive a "healthy dose" of rain, with decent showers expected in central areas including Manawatu Northland and Auckland.

A broad trough of low pressure is set to to bring significant weather across Aotearoa this weekend. Heavy rain and gale winds are expected for many places, so make sure to check out your local extended forecast for the weekend at https://t.co/WmuNA9DXoJ ^Tahlia pic.twitter.com/bl0utCttt8

— MetService (@MetService) April 30, 2020

The City of Sails will see a high of 20C on Friday, but come Saturday the cloud will begin to roll in, strengthening to heavy showers on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the weekend showers are unlikely to be enough to top Auckland's dams, which were less than half full four days ago.

Aucklanders have been heeding calls to save water, but without prolonged and significant rain, they may need to continue their water-saving ways.

Hawke's Bay and Gisborne are expected to remain dry this weekend, missing out on the forecast rain.

Wellington will see a similar story to Auckland the next few days, with patches of cloud on Friday which strengthen on Saturday, before rain, possibly heavy on Sunday.

A plume of subtropical moisture will affect much of New Zealand from Saturday-Monday 🚿

Good news for those soil moisture deficits, but we’ll still need more! pic.twitter.com/QotzLBjAag

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) April 30, 2020

Christchurch will see low cloud a few showers on Friday but skips out on the rain expected along the West Coast.

Temperatures in the city will hover above 19C over the weekend, but will drop down to the single digits overnight.

And despite the inch of freedom New Zealanders have gained at alert level 3, MetService urged people to remain up to date on their local conditions.

"The adverse weather continues into next week with an influx of cool air and the risk of thunderstorms," MetService said.