The wet weather returns

Weather predicted to turn wet on Thursday or Friday. Photo: Steven McNicholl.

The sun is set to give way to heavy cloud and rain by the end of the week - making for a short-lived reprieve barely a fortnight on from Cyclone Cook.

MetService meteorologist April Clarke said the weather would turn wet tomorrow or Friday, particularly at the southwestern end of the country.

"On Wednesday and Thursday, most of the country remains sunny apart from areas of morning cloud or fog," she said. "However, places west of the alps deteriorate into rain with a front approaching from the west."

Parts of the country worst hit by the torrential rain in recent weeks will not escape either - the MetService predicts heavy rain in the northeast of the country later in the week.

"There is then a moderate risk that rainfall accumulations will reach warning amounts in the north of Westland, Buller, Nelson, the north of Marlborough and over the North Island from Taranaki across to the Bay of Plenty northwards."

Given the incoming inclement weather it could be wise to make most of what's expected to be a sunny day today.

In the main centres today, Auckland was expected to be relatively warm and sunny with a high of 21C; in the capital a few more clouds were forecast and a cooler high of just 17C was forecast.

Christchurch would start the day with low cloud and fog, but this would give way to the sun later in the day.