Rain putting dampener on holidays

Holidaymakers hoping for a nice long spell of sunny weather are in for a disappointment, at least for the next few days.

During the next few days a series of fronts move over the country and are expected to bring showery and unsettled weather, mainly to western areas, while the big high-pressure systems that bring calm, dry weather are not hanging around.

"We're struggling to find one that is going to stick around at the moment," said MetService forecaster Allister Gorman.

"Certainly it hasn't been spectacular weather, particularly in western areas."

Yesterday Milford got 11mm of rain from dawn to afternoon and there was heavier rain about the Coromandel Ranges. Gisborne also got showers, as did Auckland and parts of the Waikato. Eastern parts of the North Island were reasonably fine.

Today was forecast to be a mixed bag of showers and fine spells. The North Island should be mostly fine in the morning but a front will bring showers later.

By Thursday another front will move on to the South Island with western areas getting the worst of the rain.