Philip Duncan from WeatherWatch.co.nz updates on three people who have been killed after severe weather - including a series of tornadoes - hit Auckland this afternoon. Police sources have confirmed that three have died in the west Auckland storm, which struck shortly after noon.

We have some more heat, rain and strong winds in the forecast - but then some summer highs start to roll in from the west - possibly for the next week or two.

A number of lows and rain bands will this week bring plenty of rain to the north and west of New Zealand - however not everyone in the east will be seeing much rain. Week two of summer looks drier but today Philip Duncan walks you through the rain bands coming in this week.

Summer kicks off this weekend in New Zealand and the weather will be as confused as the public - with some areas receiving snow and potential frosts while others soar into the late 20s. We have rain back in the forecast again, especially for the north, west and south - and we have more summerlike weather in the long range forecast too.

The spring pattern continues across New Zealand bringing a few weak fronts. However this weekend the spring pattern will strengthen - with more wind and cloud but also pushing in some hot winds to the east for the official start of summer on Saturday.

The last week of spring 2012 is here, we bring you the latest forecast for the week ahead plus take a look at the expected weather for the first weekend of summer.

Sunnier this week but still some rain: After an unsettled weekend it looks as though high pressure will dominate NZ this week - however rain will try to move in from both the north and south as the week progresses.

Rain and wind for the weekend: A bit of a rough weekend for some regions as a deepening low crosses the country bringing rain and wind on Saturday, a colder southerly for some on Sunday, but improving quickly on Monday.

Changeable weather ahead: Another couple of weak fronts will cross parts of New Zealand over the next few days - ahead of a big low that will cross New Zealand on Saturday and Sunday bringing a period of wind and rain.

This week we'll see a mix of average temperatures, plenty of cloudy and a few rainy spells in there too - all ahead of a large low pressure system expected to move in from the west this weekend.

The 2012/13 South Pacific cyclone season is upon us and for the next 6 months the activity north of New Zealand will start to increase.

Shivering camper Gregor Richardson took this video of snow at St Bathans on Saturday after unwisely deciding to take his caravan to Central Otago at the weekend.

As New York and the East coast of the USA recovers from the Superstorm Sandy, this fantastic time-lapse video was posted to YouTube by SMvideoChan.

Some models are indicating a Tasman Sea low could trigger more rain for NZ this weekend. We take a look at the weather for the remainder of the short week and last weekend of October. We also look a 'weather bomb' that is about to hit a large portion of Russia - and that says something about its size!

A tropical low is set to miss us, a southerly gets stopped in its tracks - for a change NZ isn't in the middle of the severe weather, although some rough weather may still impact the lower half of the South Island.

We take a look at close look at weather conditions from Friday through to Tuesday around New Zealand.

We rate the travel conditions for road, air and sea for those heading away for the long weekend on either Friday afternoon/evening or Saturday morning. We also take a look at the weather in Australia and the tropics for the long weekend.

Another surge of severe weather will spread across New Zealand over Wednesday and Thursday. We also take a look at the start of Labour Weekend - it's an unsettled forecast that sees a mix of wind, rain, showers but also sun this upcoming long weekend. And with end with a sunset photo from Auckland's Hillsborough Rd.

Engineers will today pack explosives into huge boulders that have closed Milford Rd in Fiordland, as residents face their fifth day cut off.

We take a look at the week ahead and the latest forecast for the start of the first long weekend in nearly half a year - in a nutshell? "Messy"

An independent weatherman has hit out at the MetService, claiming it was too slow to issue a severe weather warning for Auckland at the weekend.