Summer weather to stay for upper North Island

Mt Maunganui. Photo / lan Gibson

You can keep the Jandals on for another couple of weeks, at least in the upper North Island where the long, hot summer will keep on giving.

But you might need to keep the brolly on hand for the odd shower in many places today and into next week.

The Met Service is expecting a cold front to cross the lower North Island tomorrow bringing showers and strong, cool southerlies, but temperatures in Auckland will remain in the 20s for most of the week.

High pressure will move over the South Island and drift over central New Zealand on Tuesday, causing the southerlies and showers to ease.

WeatherWatch analyst Philip Duncan anticipates it will be at least a fortnight before those living north of Taupo will need to dig out their winter blankets.

"I think there will be a few more hints that we are in autumn but we will enjoy another late summer for another couple more weeks. I think we will see above-average temperatures for the most part.

"The lower two-thirds of the country are a little more in this autumnal weather pattern, which is changeable."

He said the upper North Island could expect plenty of warm, above-average days in the next fortnight, but there will be some southerlies and some rain.

"But what we might notice is the Southern Ocean waking up a bit more, with some cold fronts coming in."

The world experienced its warmest February on record this year, and New Zealand had its second-warmest February.

New Zealand's statistics for March have not yet been published, but in Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology said the country had broken another record in March, reaching 1.7C above the long-term average.