East coast areas are in for plenty of sunshine over the next few days.
Napier, Hastings and Gisborne are all looking the goods with warm northwesterlies pumping out temperatures ranging from 21C to 23C and fine weather through to Saturday.
Christchurch is also on the receiving end of those warm northwesterlies today and tomorrow, with highs of 19C and 22C respectively.
East-facing areas from Northland, through Coromandel to Bay of Plenty, are all in for a fine few days too.
The only major weather hitting the country in the next few days will be in the central and southern parts of the South Island.
MetService has issued a strong wind watch for the Canterbury high country, Otago and Southland from 10am tomorrow to 10am Saturday.
Westerlies may rise to severe gale in exposed places by noon on Thursday.
The strong winds are expected to ease on Saturday as winds turn southwesterly.
The next change in the weather is coming on Saturday in the South Island, and Sunday in the North Island.
"A front moves over the South Island on Saturday bringing another southwest change, spreading showers from the West Coast into the east," Dyason said.
Western parts of the North Island will start to feel the effects on Saturday afternoon and by Sunday it will also reach eastern areas.
However, by that stage it will have weakened substantially and only showers are forecast.
The past few days have seen a small drop in the overnight mercury.
The central high country in the North Island dropped to about 0C overnight, and parts of the South Island experienced similar frigid temperatures. Christchurch was hovering around 1-2C at 6am.
There was likely more snow on the mountain tops overnight, but less than Tuesday night when several alpine passes got a dusting.
Temperatures would likely cool further with the weekend front, but that would all start to settle next week as a high pressure system took over the country, Dyason said.
"That west to southwest flow is already sitting out in the Tasman, but next week it builds right over the country."
Anzac Day - next Wednesday - was a little too far out to predict, Dyason said.
"But at this stage it looks like it could be fine."
Today's weather
• Whangarei
Cloudy periods. Light winds. 19C high, 11C overnight.
• Auckland
Cloudy periods, chance shower. Southwesterlies. 19C high, 14C overnight.
• Hamilton
Cloudy periods, chance afternoon shower. Southwest dying out evening. 18C high, 10C overnight.
• Tauranga
A fine morning, then a few cloudy periods from afternoon. Southwesterlies. 20C high, 11C overnight.
• New Plymouth
Cloudy periods, chance shower. Westerlies. 18C high, 13C overnight.
• Napier
Fine. Westerlies. 21C high, 11C overnight.
• Wellington
Fine, but high cloud tonight. Northwesterlies strengthening. 17C high, 14C overnight.
• Nelson
Fine, but some cloud morning and evening. Southwesterlies. 19C high, 10C overnight.
• Christchurch
Fine with high cloud at times. Northwesterlies. 19C high, 9C overnight.
• Dunedin
Fine with high cloud. Westerlies. 18C high, 9C overnight.
