The big high that gave NZ a stunning long weekend is now a blocking high to our east and is feeding in a warm subtropical nor'easter. By Friday and the weekend we are back to west to south west winds - with westerlies the theme for the next couple of weeks.

A large high is rolling across New Zealand this long weekend meaning cold mornings but sunny days. A few showers may linger around East Cape and north of Whangarei. Next week looks warmer and subtropical for a time.

A cold southerly covers the country but a big high pressure system is coming for the weekend and next week. While a few coastal showers will continue most places will be settled, with a warm subtropical flow coming in next week.

Daytime highs in the mid-20s when they should be in the mid to late teens, that is the forecast for a number of regions across both islands for the first week of May. The warm spell of weather might even continue into the third week of May for some in the north. We track the rain makers, wind flows and highs and lows for the first week of May

April is coming to an end and Philip Duncan explains the gloomy end to places like Auckland and Hamilton. May kicks off in Sunday with a change to warmer weather - infact the first week or so of May looks warmer than average.

Saturday across New Zealand kicks off mostly dry and settled thanks to a very large high-pressure system. However to the north and to the south of the country lie two areas of wet weather, and on Sunday these will move further in across the country. The north will see some heavy downpours potentially on Sunday while the south will see a cold front weaken as it moves north. By next week a very large high is rolling in bringing dry weather to most regions for a number of days. WeatherWatch.co.nz for more details.

High pressure is trying to push in for the end of the week and across the weekend. However rain just north of Northland may slide down the upper North Island. Most of the rain is offshore but just as we saw last Sunday it may slide in across done populated centres. The South Island looks mainly dry but showers may spread out of Fiordland into nearby regions a couple of times.

This week we have a series of Autumn fronts to move through, before a cooler SW change arrives overnight Tuesday and across Wednesday. This change will be ahead of a large high pressure system which is working its way towards New Zealand from around Thursday/Friday and across the weekend. Expect a fair bit of cloud around the nation this week - but the windier, cooler, SW change over Tuesday and Wednesday should make for some fairly sunny weather in eastern areas at times.

our Autumn weather pattern is kicking in now with more changeable weather on the way this week. A large high-pressure system from the Tasman Sea will bring in settled weather especially for the North Island on Wednesday and Thursday with rain moving up the West Coast around then and heading in to the North Island by Friday as a showery front.

A burst of subtropical rain and showers will kick off Friday night and Saturday but in autumnal change across Saturday or Sunday will see sunnier weather returning but with a few showers here - also there is a slight drop in temperatures. Next week a large high is rolling in settling the weather down in most places by Tuesday

Cyclone Winston is now posing some threat to Fiji's southeastern corner but won't have any threat to NZ until possibly next week. As for New Zealand the humidity is easing and the rain is too for most areas - just a few coastal showers possible.

A significant tropical cyclone is developing north of New Zealand near Vanuatu and may grow in to a severe tropical cyclone this weekend. The future track for this storm does show it making a direct hit – but we still need a couple more days to fine tune. We take a close look at the set up over the next four or five days.

Ex-cyclone victor continues to drive swells into our eastern coastline and humidity levels look intense for the upper north island this long weekend. We also take a look at Auckland and Nelson anniversary weekends - and the chance for more isolated heavy downpours in the north, especially on Saturday.

Severe Cyclone Victor continues to track towards New Zealand but all modelling shows it will fail to reach us directly. We have the very latest on the tracking - and of course what is happening here in New Zealand for the remainder of this week and the upcoming weekend.

: A narrow ‘vein of rain’ will spread across the North Island on Saturday – with showers and drizzle patches to the north and south of it. This front slides across the North Island with a few isolated heavy downpours – and clears overnight Saturday. West Coasters have a showery weekend – and a few spits may fall in dry Canterbury, but not much – with Sunday drier and cooler across many areas.

Daylight Savings kicks off this weekend, don’t forget to spring your clocks forward one hour before bed on Saturday night. As for the forecast, the wet easterly flow is easing but some patchy rain is about Hawkes Bay on Saturday, but easing. A few showers elsewhere, especially in the North Island interior with afternoon heating. The South Island may see a couple of showers, otherwise dry under high pressure in the south.

Weatherwatch weather analyst Philip Duncan gives a update on what to expect for the next few days.

Parts of the country were lashed by heavy rain, thunderstorms and flash floods yesterday wreaking havoc for Dunedin and areas of Auckland.

The explosive thunderstorms that hit the North Island yesterday should ease but heavy rain and plummeting temperatures are forecast for the rest of the week.

Aucklanders were battered by wild weather this evening as thunder and lightning hit the region.

Winter's first day is forecast to be wet but the weather should improve as June progresses.

Philip Duncan of WeatherWatch said another band of wet, cold weather would be making its way across the country throughout today and next week.

Our last long weekend in almost half a year is approaching – and typically Queens Birthday Weekend in New Zealand looks a little unsettled – but by no means is it a write off. There are rain and shower risks – mostly in Northland and our western coastline. Here’s a look at the best forecasts out at the moment – and we’ll fine tune this again on Friday with the very latest for the long weekend.

Snow covers Wellington's Rimutaka Ranges. Snow fell overnight in Wairarapa down to 300m, with New Zealand Transport Agency teams working through the night to keep the Rimutaka Hill Rd open for commuters to Wellington this morning. The foothills near Masterton and Carterton on both sides received a dump, as did the Aorangi Ranges on the southern coast. Although the weather cleared across the Rimutaka and Tararua ranges, snow continued to fall on the eastern foothills during the morning, reaching up to 6cm near Gladstone and Admirals Hill.

We take a look at footage from the flooding in Wellington and the twister damage in Mt Maunganui overnight – and explain why it happened and where the severe weather is for Friday across the North Island, as conditions finally improve for parts of the South Island.

Today is the final day of cold sou’westers for many areas, with warmer, calmer weather moving back to many areas by the end of Friday and for the first weekend of May. The large high will cross NZ from late Friday to early Tuesday bringing mainly settled, dry, weather this weekend and a calm start to next week. Warm nor’westers return to many places early next week.

The Cricket World Cup semifinal is in Auckland today at Eden Park, and a night of rain has left many anxious about how today will pan out. We take a look at the latest forecast. We also take a long range nationwide look at the weather through until Sunday – a big low this weekend may bring in much needed rain to our driest regions.

Saturday March 21st is the equinox in New Zealand and that means summer has officially ended no matter how you dice it! However a high is rolling in for this weekend with warmer northerlies (after the cold end to the week for some). Rain moves up the South Island’s West Coast on Sunday and into some parts of the North Island by Monday, as a truly Autumnal pattern kicks in.

We take a special look at the very dry conditions around New Zealand and have a detailed focus at the incoming rain possibilities for the final week of Summer and the start of Autumn. While rain and showers are appearing more in the forecasts we still see a lot of dry weather coming in for March – but hope is on the horizon for some who need rain.