Warmer, wetter weather for long weekend

Rain is due to arrive in the South Island through Friday afternoon, and creep north over the weekend. File photo / Sarah Ivey

While Aucklanders shivered through the coldest night of the year last night, temperatures will rise over the long weekend bringing wetter weather.

Temperatures in Auckland plunged to 5C last night, but the City of Sails was still warmer than most of the other main centres across the country, as the mercury fell to near freezing point - and below - in some areas.

Last night was the coldest night of the year in Auckland so far, with temperatures dropping to 5.1C, MetService meteorologist John Law said, beating April's lowest temperature of 7C. But Christchurch and Queenstown fell to as low as almost -4C and -2, while Hamilton hit -1C.

Good news is on the horizon though, as temperatures look set to rise slightly for the weekend. But it will come at a price - holiday-makers setting off for the long Queen's Birthday weekend look likely to swap the chill for some rain.

"Tonight we've still got some nice clear skies so that could be quite a cool night again tonight. Temperatures again around 5C or 6C in Auckland," Mr Law said.

"Then as we go into towards the next couple of days we're going to find the high pressure bringing those nice clear skies pulls away out towards the east, and it's replaced by north or northwesterlies, and that's going to bring with it some wetter weather.

"Hopefully not through Saturday, I think Saturday looks like a pretty decent day for us, particularly for you guys in Auckland."

But the rain won't be far off, Mr Law said.

"We're going to find the rain arrives in the South Island as we go through Friday afternoon. As we go through in towards Saturday it starts to creep north, and you'll find it starts to turn cloudier on Saturday in Auckland, and once we head through in towards Sunday we'll start to find some spots of late drizzle, but it's quite late in the day.

"Then sadly, for the last day of the long weekend, those northerlies are going to bring some wet weather. But our daytime temperatures will be back up to around 16C or 17C, and nighttime temperatures around 12C or so, so much milder through the night."

The change in wind direction - bringing warmer but wet weather with it - would hit the west of the country hardest for Queen's Birthday weekend, Mr Law said.

"If you're heading out towards the east for the long weekend, somewhere like Hawke's Bay, Gisborne or even down towards Canterbury, it looks like better, drier weather, and a little bit warmer as well."

Some of the rain will hit holiday hot-spots, WeatherWatch said, particularly on Monday.

"Rain slowly moves up the South Island's West Coast throughout Saturday," the forecaster said.

"By nighttime any rain or showers will likely be hovering around the upper South Island north of about Greymouth and Kaikoura - and it will be patchy.

"The entire North Island - and elsewhere in the South Island - look mainly dry for Saturday."

Sunday would be "a little more complicated", WeatherWatch said, with rain or showers continuing around the northwestern corner of the South Island, and coming into the top of Northland, the western Bay of Plenty and eastern Coromandel.

But Monday "seems to get wetter by the hour", WeatherWatch said, as a slow moving cold front heads towards New Zealand from the west.

"Rain is likely along the entire West Coast of the South Island with some spillover rain into Southland and western Otago. Showers, possibly heavy, are also possible around the upper South Island regions of Nelson and Marlborough.

"In the North Island at least half of the island may be affected by rain or showers as a humid northerly quarter flow pushes down but there will still be plenty of dry areas across the country on Queen's Birthday Monday - but they may be cloudier and windier."

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OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES:

* Auckland: 5.1C

* Hamilton: -1C

* Tauranga: 4.1C

* Wellington: 4C

* Nelson: 0C

* Christchurch: -3.6C

* Dunedin city: 6-7C; Dunedin Airport: -2C

* Queenstown: -2.4C

* Invercargill: 3C

(Source: MetService)