Wet, windy holiday weather ahead for New Zealand

Wet and windy weather is expected across the country this week. Photo / Duncan Brown.

Holiday revellers hoping to soak up the sun could find themselves indoors this week as downpours, strong winds and cloudy periods are set to sweep the country.

Kiwis enjoyed perfect barbie weather on Boxing Day with temperatures above 23C across much of the North Island, however, this was short-lived.

A cold front started moving up the South Island today, bringing with it bursts of heavy rain for most parts of the western South Island and strong northwesterly winds.

A severe weather warning is in place for Stewart Island and exposed parts of eastern Otago and South Canterbury this morning, with severe northwest gales expected to reach up to 140km/h.

MetService duty meteorologist April Clark said gusts of this strength could cause damage to unsecure buildings and vegetation, as well as make driving conditions hazardous especially for motorcycles and high-sided vehicles.

However, as the rain sets in, temperatures are expected to heat up for some, with MetService predicting Christchurch will reach 28C and Napier 30C today.

The front will weaken before moving over the North Island on Tuesday bringing cloudy skies through to Wednesday.

Napier and Hastings will have warm, dry weather ahead of the front tomorrow.

The country will experience another damp day on Thursday, with showers forecast for most of the North and South Islands in the lead-up to New Year's Eve.

"This is one of the worst days coming up," said Clark.

"It could be a crummy day for a few people before the weather clears up on Friday."

Friday will be mainly fine, apart from isolated showers north of Taupo, Marlborough, Canterbury and inland Westland.

This week's temperatures:

Whangarei
Dec 27: High 24C, low 15C
Dec 28: High 25C, low 15C
Dec 29: High 23C, low 15C
Dec 30: High 24C, low 14C

Auckland
Dec 27: High 21C, low 16C
Dec 28: High 22C, low 14C
Dec 29: High 20C, low 14C
Dec 30: High 23C, low 14C

Tauranga
Dec 27: High 24C, low 15C
Dec 28: High 26C, low 12C
Dec 29: High 22C, low 13C
Dec 30: High 22C, low 13C

Rotorua
Dec 27: High 22C, low 12C
Dec 28: High 24C, low 9C
Dec 29: High 19C, low 10C
Dec 30: Hugh 21C, low 11C

Napier
Dec 27: High 30C, low 16C
Dec 28: Hugh 25C, low 13C
Dec 29: High 20C, low 11C
Dec 30: High 20C, low 11C

Wellington
Dec 27: High 19C, low 12C
Dec 28: Hugh 20C, low 12C
Dec 29: High 16C, low 10C
Dec 30: High 18C, low 12C

Christchurch
Dec 27: High 28C, low 11C
Dec 28: High 17C, low 10C
Dec 29: High 16C, low 8C
Dec 30: High 19C, low 10C

Dunedin
Dec 27: High 23C, low 10C
Dec 28: High 16C, low 9C
Dec 29: High 15C, low 9C
Dec 30: High 18C, low 12C