Weather fine for New Year

The forecasted clear weather on New Year's eve will allow a great view of the fireworks off the Sky Tower. Photo / Thinkstock

Clear weather for New Year will give way to more cyclonic conditions later this week.

Today's cloud in Auckland should clear by New Year's Eve, allowing a great view of the fireworks off the Sky Tower.

The weather will remain dry until Cyclone Freda brings back the wet and windy conditions around Thursday.

WeatherWatch analyst Richard Green said Kiwis should be prepared for plenty of rain.

Warnings have been issued for parts of the South Island. Milford, Greymouth, Hokitika and Nelson are expected to bear the brunt of the bad weather, according to Green.

Freda is travelling about 90km/h but will speed up by the time it hits New Caledonia.

"Cyclones tend to gain speed over warmer waters and Freda would have had time to get up to (about 130km/h) by the time it gets to New Caledonia," he said.

Freda is around Category 2 at the moment but could match Evan as a Category 4.

At its peak, Evan travelled at 270km/h.

"It is a challenge to compare Evan and Freda, but there are similarities in the size and speed of the two cyclones," he said.

However the computer modelling system that predicts Freda to be a Category 4 or 5 cyclone is the one that forecast Evan to be mild.