School holiday joy: Bye bye rain, hello sunshine

Good news from the weatherman - the wet and wild weather that hit the North Island yesterday will ease in time for the start of the school holidays.

Aucklanders will wake up to a cooler morning today compared to the past few days, with the weather being dictated by a southerly wind.

As the front moves off to the east today, cooler southwest winds are also set to return temperatures to normal for this time of year for the South Island.

Cooler temperatures and clear skies will bring frosty mornings. Photo / Alan Gibson.

MetService meteorologist Angus Hines told the Herald the weekend was looking dry and sunny, but cooler temperatures persist with moderate southerly winds.

"It's been very wet around Auckland yesterday, with over 50mm of rain reported in several spots around the region," Hines said.

"But things will rapidly settle down before the weekend."

Auckland is forecast to have a high of 13C today, with mainly fine spells although there may be a few showers in the west.

Meteorologist Kyle Lee said the weather was looking settled for the start of the school holidays next week.

He said the benign weather of last week meant Auckland, Northland and Waikato broke records for the driest six months between January and June.

🌨️Snow🌨️ on the Desert Road🐫. Make sure you check NZTA for road closures on https://t.co/VpiBPYiOXb before travelling. ^TA pic.twitter.com/X4UOnRO52j

— MetService (@MetService) July 4, 2019

Christchurch has a forecast high of 8C today, with showers and southwesterlies, strong about the Banks Peninsula - but will ease by the evening.

An easing trend of the weather and settled conditions were the main story for the weekend across most parts of the country, Lee said.

"This will be good news for anyone planning to attend the Super Rugby Final in Christchurch on Saturday evening, as the showers and strong winds should ease to a dry evening with light winds," he said.

The cooler temperatures and clear skies overnight also meant frosty mornings right into the start of the school holidays next week.