Santa likely to be dodging showers on the big day

Christmas shoppers scampered through the rain in Auckland yesterday but the wet weather should lift in time for Christmas Day - maybe.

The outlook for Sunday is for fine weather for most of the North Island although parts of the South Island could get showers later on.

"We're in a clearing phase between fronts although at the moment we've got some of the usual unsettled December weather coming through that we're all used to," said MetService forecaster Ramon Oosterkamp.

"Most of us should do reasonably okay on Christmas Day but that could all change, it's a very mobile situation at the moment."

Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch should be mostly fine on Christmas Day although a front approaching from the Tasman Sea could bring showers to Christchurch and Fiordland towards evening.

But last-minute present buyers are likely to need a brolly for most of this week as a low pressure system lying west of Fiordland brings rain to much of the country today, with showery southwesterlies in the south of the South Island and showery northwesterlies over the central and northern North Island.

A trough will bring a disturbed southwest flow over much of the country on Thursday and Friday.

After Christmas, showers or rain is once more expected over much of the country.