Southerly blasts in the South first

Two types of turbulence will affect our weather this weekend. The first is a southerly blast moving up the South Island and into the North Island while the other is the big air show over the settled skies at Whenuapai airbase in north west Auckland on Saturday.

The Whenuapai airshow happens every 2 years and as someone who lives in the north west of Auckland I have to say it's fantastic. I love air shows and this one is a doozey with some amazing planes doing their thing. The other night I was taking my dog for a run when a low flying Hercules roared overhead then banked sharply over the Waitemata Harbour. It was an amazing sight and to describe just how low it was you could actually feel and smell the exhaust a few seconds after it passed over. I wish they did that training every day.

The weather for Saturday in Auckland looks pretty good. Sou'west breezes will blow clouds in from the Tasman Sea but the day should be a good mix of sun and cloud with temperatures in the lower 20s. Not bad at all. Don't forget to put sunscreen on too - even though it doesn't feel like the middle of summer anymore the burn times are still very high.

I've been to the airshow and watched it from my house...it's well worth taking the kids and making a day of it if you can. It's an incredibly cheap day out too. Just 5 bucks and if you're under 10 it's free - and here's something Aucklanders aren't used to: Free parking is available.

For all the info on this event read the RNZAF press release here.

Weekend Weather for rest of New Zealand

So what's the weather like for the rest of the weekend for everyone else? Another cold snap is on the way but this one is for southern and eastern places only...of both islands. The rain clouds will move into Southland Friday with a southerly arriving very early on Saturday. That cold southerly will blast its way northwards up the east coast - leaving Westport and other West Coasters dry and relatively warm thanks to the sheltering effect of the Southern Alps. Invercargill, Dunedin, Timaru, Ashburton, Christchurch - highs between 11 and 14 will greet you this weekend. Invercargill will be the coldest spot with double digit highs only just.

Further north and that southerly will arrive in the Capital during Saturday afternoon then up to Hawkes Bay and Gisborne by evening. It peters out by then but not before shaving about 10 degrees off your highs compared to some of the ones we've seen this week.

Western centres will be the places to be. Coastal areas will receive a few clouds off the Tasman while further inland it should be nice and hot and sunny...great news for the cricket series in Hamilton after such a terrible run this season. Don't forget our special Cricket forecasts for Hamilton here.

Another tropical cyclone?

Warmer than average seas off Australia's north east coast means every low that forms there has a good potential to grow into something severe. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (their version of MetService) says the chances of another tropical cyclone forming in the Coral Sea on Saturday is "high". There isn't much to talk about at this stage I just wanted to let you in on the latest. It could be another severe cyclone but whether or not it will affect land is still up in the air. I'll spend the weekend gathering all the facts then on Monday I'll write more about here. Until then feel free to check out our special link to track its formation.

Have a fantastic weekend - and don't forget to send in your photos of the Whenuapai Airshow here.

Photo: Whenuapai helicopters. Photo / Supplied