In our final video for 2014 we take a look at Christmas Day weather, Boxing Day, the final weekend of the year and a sneak peak at New Years Eve across the country. Also – the Live Santa Tracker is back for 2014!

Summer has arrived – although day one of December is certainly more like spring with southerlies and hail in the forecast. But the rest of the week warms up and dries out for most New Zealanders – but rain and some wind returns later in the week to southern and central areas. The first half of December is looking changeable – but much drier weather may start to set in across north eastern areas of the country.

The weather forecast from this Friday to next Monday is a messy one, including election day this Saturday. The forecast isn't flash with a mix of wind, rain, showers and even snow for some in the deep south. There are still going to be plenty of opportunities to get out and vote on the day. Next week will kick off windy and colder; the spring westerlies should lock in next week warming things up.

Doug, Finn and Gus play in the morning snow in a Dunedin hill suburb. Snow has fallen to low levels in the South overnight, forcing the closure of many schools and prompting calls for care by motorists.

Gale force winds battered Auckland in ferocious storm last night, littering city streets with trees and cutting power to tens of thousands.

Most years Auckland has a light frost or two but the frost on Wednesday morning was heavy for some suburbs. The frosts were widespread across the North Island but not so widespread in the South Island ahead of the next cold change for Wednesday night and Thursday morning. We also take a look at the long weekend forecast for Queens Birthday.

The final week of Autumn is going out with a bang as yet another storm in the Southern Ocean lines itself up with New Zealand this week. Unlike the weekend cold blast this one is weaker, but will bring a period of strong to gale force winds to southern and eastern areas of both islands – and late Wednesday and into Thursday a colder southerly heads north. Winter kicks off officially on Sunday – and the forecast looks mostly settled.

A big high is rolling in and despite a gentle southerly flow most places look mostly sunny and settled this weekend. Overnight lows in the North Island will be mostly, if not entirely, in the single digits with a few light frosts through the interior of both islands. A front in the Southern Ocean will lift up the westerlies and drive in some cloud later on Sunday across southern parts of the South Island, with windy weather and another cool change arriving on Monday.

Autumn isn’t just about wet and windy weather – the second half of the working week sees a few heavy showers around the North Island but as we head into the weekend a high from the Tasman Sea is also pushing in. Friday and Saturday look set to be most settled with Sunday also a fairly sunny and warm day in many areas – however the strong winds return to exposed areas south of Wellington on Sunday with rain clouds returning to the West Coast as a low in the Southern Ocean passes by.

This week kicks off with another rain maker but by Wednesday most of New Zealand will be dry as high pressure moves in. The next rain maker is lining up in the Tasman Sea for either the end of the weekend of the start of next week, and may well be a fairly typical Autumn low with warm, windy, weather in front and a change to colder, squally, showers behind. We have the latest on how it’s shaping up.

Widespread flooding, heavy rainfall and gale force winds caused road closures, power outages and slips around New Zealand on April 17 and 18. The rough conditions have been fuelled by ex-Cyclone Ita with the tail end of the tropical storm hitting the islands overnight on April 17. The winds blew down a large tree in Nelson, on the north tip of the South Island, which was captured on camera by YouTube/Derek Sivers.

Weather conditions continue to deteriorate in the Nelson Area with gale force winds & torrential rains sweeping over.

Ugly weather is continuing to crash into the country. The atrocious conditions are being fuelled by ex-cyclone Ita, which is battering Northland and Auckland as it sweeps down the country.

Flooding has forced transport officials to close Tamaki Drive in east Auckland as gales and torrential rain batter the upper North Island.

The remnants of ex-cyclone Ita are set to sweep across the upper North Island today, bringing heavy rain and gales, while the rest of the country is also in for a soaking.

The run of warm weather, mainly for northern areas, looks set to continue this weekend and into next week along with showers and more rain makers around the nation. A low is predicted next week in the Tasman Sea and another one – potentially the remnants of current Category 5 tropical cyclone Ita – may move down towards the North Island at Easter weekend. Still a bit too far out to lock in but one to watch for northerners. Meanwhile the South Island remains mild for mid-April but a southerly change is expected later next week.

Some wet weather will be affecting eastern and central parts of New Zealand this week as a low unravels around the lower North Island. Winds will be south east for many places, which means the rain may not make it over the ranges and into very dry parts of Manawatu and Wanganui – but we do hope for some spillover. Meanwhile the rest of the country looks fairly dry – but a sub-tropical low is possible next week according to some computer models.

The weather across New Zealand is sluggish at best as high pressure swamps both islands and helps stall lows to the north east and south west of the country. These two lows are weakening and by next week may bring in more showers to some areas – but it’s not the silver bullet to break the big dry forming in parts of the North Island. Winds are mostly light – which means you can expect more fog and cloud patches in the morning.

A weak front will bring a south to south west change from the lower North Island southwards on Tuesday, bringing rain and showers to the South Island and a few showers to the lower North Island. Afternoon heating will continue to lead to a few heavy showers for upper western parts of the North Island – bringing pockets of relief to those who need rain. However WeatherWatch.co.nz maintains that dry weather will prevail across the regions that need rain the most for the rest of March and the very start of April.

Head Weather analyst Philip Duncan gives a special weather update on the location where potential Debris have been spotted by satellite 2500 kilometres southwest of Perth.

Cyclone Lusi continues to slide south towards New Zealand bringing severe gales and heavy rain. The low will track down the western side of NZ then cross over the South Island on Sunday night – before leaving the nation on Monday morning. Severe weather may affect a number of regions, so please check with MetService for the latest warnings & watches – and WeatherWatch.co.nz for special weather news updates across the weekend. For farmers wanting rain Lusi should deliver a soaking to a number of regions – but some may miss out due to the changing wind flow.

All you need to know about the weather and transport for Auckland's Pasifika Festival at Western Springs from Weather Analyst Philip Duncan.

NZ Reader videos from Jason Burns and Liz Osborne, also YouTube clips from Christchurch capture the storm and damage ravaging the Canterbury region. Please send your weather related stories, photos or video to online-editor@nzherald.co.nz.

The first official weekend of Autumn and the weather is more autumnal thanks to a south to south west change right across the country. It will be cold for some in the deep south – but for those in the upper North Island expect only a slight dip in the temperatures. We update you on the two cyclone risks north of New Zealand and we monitor any potential rain or shower risks for those desperate for rain.

Dry conditions are starting to really set in across northern New Zealand and the forecast doesn’t show much rain in the next 10 days. As WeatherWatch.co.nz exclusively predicted back at the start of spring, the current weather pattern is favourable to creating drier than average conditions for northern New Zealand. The only saving grace will be from tropical or sub-tropical rain makers. Latest models show a fairly high chance of a tropical cyclone forming later in the first week of March – but the models have no idea if it will affect NZ just yet, so confidence of rain remains low at this early stage. Meanwhile the South Island and lower North Island have more hot and cold changes coming up.

Saturday was humid and Sunday was thundery – but the week ahead looks calmer for most regions thanks to higher air pressure. Humidity levels may start to creep back up again this week north of Waikato and BOP while a couple more colder changes are expected in the South Island – which might spark one or two heavy showers. We also look at video of the tornado and the damage it caused on Sunday in North Canterbury.

Foggy weather has affected flights in Wellington and Christchurch this week – we explain why and give you the more positive forecast for flying this weekend. Humidity levels should also ease across the country by the end of the weekend after the south west change comes through. Next week looks mostly dry with a high rolling in and humidity levels look set to increase again in the north by mid week as the easterly flow returns to northern New Zealand.

A more humid east to north east flow is dominating a number of regions, especially the top of the country. The humidity is making the feels like temperatures lift by several degrees at times during the afternoons. The weekend sees a cooler south west change moving up the country but the weekend looks mostly dry. Philip Duncan also discusses how the summer weather is likely to extend well into March this year.

Two low pressure systems are moving in towards New Zealand, one coming out of the sub-tropics from the north east and the other coming in from the south west. The two will weaken as they move across the country this week, but it means some who need rain will get it – but the rain predictions for the upper North Island remain patchy and hit and miss. By the end of the week we have another sou’west flow across the country which means the weekend ahead may be a little cooler along our western coastlines, but sunnier and hotter in the east or north east. Don’t forget to also check out our great new animated wind maps in our weather videos.

The weekend is here and the forecast looks mostly dry across the New Zealand. High pressure remains in control of a number of places despite a low from the north and west trying to move in later on Sunday. These messy systems will weaken early next week but may – MAY – bring some rain relief to dry parts of northern NZ. It looks a bit hit and miss though.