Weather: Beautiful day ahead, but beachgoers warned to expect bigger waves

A day at the beach might be the ticket for anyone lucky enough to have the day off today, but beachgoers are being warned to look out for bigger waves.

Fine weather conditions and hot temperatures are forecast around the country and particularly in the North Island, where the hottest places to be will be Hamilton and Taumarunui where highs of up to 30C are expected.

Whāngārei will also be hot. A high of 29C is forecast - the same in Wanaka and Alexandra in the South Island.

MetService said the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Tino - which caused havoc in parts of Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Tuvalu - would bring swells of up to 2m from Northland to the Bay of Plenty.

🌊 Eastern coasts of the North Island can expect some moderate easterly swell from tomorrow morning. Winds will be light and sea-breezy, so looking like a good day for some surf. Check out https://t.co/cSt2llZuwW for more details on the forecast. ^Tahlia pic.twitter.com/WkNtmLMDFF

— MetService (@MetService) January 20, 2020

Slightly bigger swells are forecast in the East Cape and, in general, anyone heading to the beach in those areas is being told to be aware of those conditions.

"They're expected to be arriving this morning and then not get too much higher than that," meteorologist Thalia Crabtree said.

"There are light winds as well...and because it's going to be quite nice, it might just be a good day for some surfing once the swell picks up."

She encouraged people to swim between the flags as lifeguards will have a good idea of how conditions will affect their local beaches.

Aucklanders can expect another hot day. A high of 26C and overnight low of 16C are on the cards. Last night, temperatures reached 19C in parts of the city.

Gisborne is the only place reporting slight drizzle this morning, forecast to clear early on to make way for a fine day.

Thankfully for NZ, the remnants of #CycloneTino will pass well east of us. The TC won't have an impact on our weather and bring the eastern North Island some long period swell instead 🌊

🤙 Mon & Tue look best to catch a clean wave or two with some lingering waves on Wed 🏄‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/QXJ7iiMa7T

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) January 18, 2020

Those in the South Island can also expect to get sunshine today.

Temperature highs of up to 23C are forecast from Nelson to Invercargill, as well as in Christchurch.

Those in the lower part of the country might have to make the most of today's weather, however, as a front heads there - bringing scattered rain and cloud tomorrow. Winds are also due to pick up then.