Welcome to summer. Yeah right.
The first week of the season gets off to a grotty start for most - with a silver lining in the clouds.
WeatherWatch head weather analyst Philip Duncan said a big storm deep in the Southern Ocean, about 1000km south of New Zealand, was waiting to make its presence felt. But to the north, a big high pressure system lurked.
Duncan expected rain to move up the country's western fringes today, with heavy rainfall possible on the North Island's west coast by this afternoon. "It's a rough day wind-wise, very windy through the central North Island."
Eastern parts of both islands could be very windy. "It's not a day to go out on your boat or be walking near trees," Duncan said.
