While the South Island got off to a chilly start on Saturday, the upper North Island is bracing for thunderstorms and lightning strikes.
A low-pressure system drives a moist easterly over the North Island this weekend, with heavy rain and thunder forecast.
"A slow-moving front is expected to bring rain to the northeast corner of the North Island. There is a moderate risk of some thunderstorms there with heavy rain, 10 to 25mm per hour," MetService says.
"A trough is expected to affect the Coromandel Peninsula this evening. There is a moderate risk of thunderstorms associated with this trough bringing heavy rain, 10 to 25mm per hour."
The system moves away to the north after this weekend and high pressure moves back in.
This will bring a few days of settled weather to the North Island before another system coming from near Tasmania brings mid-week wet weather.
Meanwhile the South Island had another morning of cold temperatures.
"A big temperature contrast between the cloudy north and the clearer south. Coldest temperature recorded by our network at 7am is -4.5C at Mt Cook Airport," MetService says.
High pressure remains over the South Island this weekend leading to mostly settled weather there.
The exception is in the east, where a weakening cold front is expected to bring cloud and light showers from late today in the far south, and tomorrow farther north.
