Make the most of this weekend's sun New Zealand, winter is coming

Temperatures are up New Zealand but keep your woollies close by as the gloomy winter weather is expected to kick off next week.

Today though, brings a high of 19C for Auckland - ideal for those outdoor chores. Drivers are being warned to take extra care with the morning fog covering the city before the sun is set to shine.

WeatherWatch.co.nz head forecaster Philip Duncan said almost every single part of the country was experiencing warmer than average temperatures for this time of year, with the exception of Northland which is bang on normal.

Tomorrow's forecast temperatures not looking too bad!
Details at https://t.co/Yjbq0jfCz1
^Tui pic.twitter.com/EuTS2f6in0

— MetService (@MetService) May 23, 2019

Parts of the country including the central and lower North Island and the bottom of the South Island are 4 to 8C above average for this time of year, Duncan said.

In the Auckland and Waikato region, it's the driest it has been in the past five years with only 19mm of rain recorded so far.

The Waikato is also running rather dry this year, with only 190mm of rain recorded so far. You can sign up for the MetService Monthly Outlook at https://t.co/wcAHSDRVkG… to find out what the long-range forecast for June looks like. ^GG pic.twitter.com/97uswpCud1

— MetService (@MetService) May 23, 2019

As we head into the weekend, a high pressure moves from the western side of New Zealand to the east which means Saturday is expected to be another warm day.

Duncan said showers will be returning to the West Coast of the South Island with winds beginning to pick up.

By Sunday, rain continues for the West Coast and spreads to the lower North Island with some breezy weather.

Next week the high temperatures are forecast to clear away with heavy rain and wind warnings likely.

Duncan said on Monday and Tuesday rain was only expected for South Island and mainly on the West Coast but by the end of the week wet weather was expected to cover the whole country.

A much colder surge of air was also expected later in the week as winter officially kicked off.

VIDEO: Warmer days coming up but stormier weather kicks in next week https://t.co/bANzq8Ej2f via @weatherwatchnz #NewZealand #weather #storm

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) May 22, 2019