KEY POINTS:
New Zealanders experienced hotter weather than scorching Australian cities on the weekend, as East Coast temperatures reached 37 degrees.
Weatherwatch head analyst Philip Duncan said it was unusual for local cities to top Australia in the middle of an Australian heatwave.
Yesterday Gisborne, Napier and Hastings all exceeded 35 degrees, and at 2.30pm were higher than Adelaide, on 33 degrees, and Melbourne at 29 degrees.
A cold front means the lead-up to Waitangi Day would be cloudy, yet dry for most of the North Island.
Mr Duncan said Waitangi weekend would see settled, cloudy conditions, but unstable weather could bring winds and showers to Northland and Hawkes Bay.
"The unsettled weather pattern is looking more like a change into autumn weather with deep lows in the south advancing northwards," he said.
"For Waitangi Day there is now an increased chance of tropical trouble coming our way."
The long-range forecast predicted that the sunniest places on Waitangi Day would be the western side of the North Island from Waikato to Kapiti, and the northern and eastern areas of the South Island.
Mr Duncan also warned that a deep low to the east of the North Island could create dangerous rips on Gisborne and Hawkes Bay beaches.
