Scorching start for Christmas week

Christmas week will get off to a hot start with a mini heatwave predicted for most of the country on Monday and Tuesday

New Zealand can expect a scorching start to Christmas week as a mini heatwave spreads across eastern and southern parts of the country.

MetService is forecasting higher-than-usual temperatures for much of the South Island and central and eastern areas of the North Island.

Christchurch is tipped to swelter in a scorching 33C on Monday and Gisborne can expect to hit 29C on Tuesday.

In comparison, Auckland is predicted to reach just 20C and Wellington a fresh 17C.

Meteorologist Emma Blades said temperatures would start rising at the weekend. "It's like a tongue of warm air that's being pulled across from Australia over the South Island."

An area of high pressure will contribute to settled weather and clearer skies. "It's certainly something we'll be keeping an eye on," she said.

MetService is forecasting Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough and Otago will have the country's highest temperatures on Monday.

A day later the North Island's eastern and central regions are expected to reach 28C and 29C. Tauranga, Rotorua and Whangarei will all be bathed in temperatures sitting around 25C for two straight days while Hamilton is predicted to be slightly cooler at 23C.

But the heatwave is expected to be short-lived and temperatures should return to normal for the remainder of the week. At this stage Christmas Day is expected to be mainly fine throughout the country.

Auckland Sunday 23C Monday 20C Tuesday 20C
Wellington Sunday 19C Monday 17C Tuesday 17C
Christchurch Sunday 22C Monday 33C Tuesday 29C
Dunedin Sunday 21C Monday 22C Tuesday 20C