As winter officially comes to an end, a burst of warmer weather is set to herald in spring.
A ridge of high pressure moving up the country means most of the country will be in for a fine weekend, though a front on Thursday will bring rain to western areas of the country, especially the West Coast of the South Island.
The front will have weakened considerably by the time it arrives in the North Island, though North Islanders - particularly those in western areas south of Auckland - can expect a few showers on Thursday, according to Met Service.
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The milder weather set to arrive will develop over the weekend, coming hand-in-hand with a sub-tropical low heading our way.
Exactly what sort of weather the low will bring, however, remains unclear.
"The top of New Zealand is very narrow so a low dropping from the sub-tropics is always a bit like balancing an egg on a roof...chances are it will slide down one side or the other," says Philip Duncan, head forecaster for WeatherWatch.
"However, every now and then high pressure to our west and east can channel and funnel a sub-tropical low directly into the upper North Island, so this low remains one to watch."
Duncan says one possible consequence of the low will be heavy rain and gale-force winds in the upper half of the North Island in the middle of next week.
He says the rain would probably be appreciated in many parts of the country.
"While there has been a lot of chat about how many days have had rain falling in the north, like Auckland, the reality is in fact many northern regions need much more rainfall as we're in deficit for this time of year."
According to WeathWatch, recent day-time temperatures are above normal in more than half the country, though overnight lows have been down on average.
Newshub.
