Summer's coming, but keep brolly

Labour Day breezes suited this novelty kite at Barry Curtis Park in Flat Bush yesterday. Photo / Martin Sykes

Fine Labour weekend weather for much of the country may have given a hint of the warm summer just around the corner, but the wintery chills haven't quite finished with us.

MetService forecaster Geoff Sanders said that apart from a brief period of heavy showers in the Bay of Plenty on Saturday night which dropped 10mm of rain on Whakatane in two hours, the weather for most of New Zealand over the long weekend was fine.

But Aucklanders were facing the possibility of squally showers, hail and a gusty southwesterly wind when they went back to work today.

"Things are changing dramatically with regards to the weather and we sort of adjust to the summer regime, but you can still get some quite changeable weather at this time of year," Mr Sanders said.

The southwesterly flow from a low weather system over the Tasman Sea was likely to continue for most of the week, bringing showers, slightly colder temperatures and possibly snow to low levels in the South Island.

Mr Sanders said cold southerlies were likely to spread through most of the North Island until Friday, when the weather was expected to improve in most places except in the east.

Daytime temperatures in Auckland this week were likely to hover around the mid-teens.

Mr Sanders said more turbulent weather could be expected before the arrival of summer next month.

"The southerly winds will be a bit on the cooler side, but we have seen some quite cold spells, which is not unusual at this time of the year."