Cool and dry in most places over the weekend

Cool and dry in most places over the weekend

A ridge of high pressure is building across the country from the Tasman Sea,and is set to make for a settled weekend for most, although the return of westerly winds will bring some wetter weather back to the West Coast.

In the meantime, an area of low pressure sitting off the east coast of the North Island should continue to feed showers into Hawke's Bay and Gisborne, with the heaviest falls forecast to be about the ranges north of Wairoa into Friday.

"The weather over the South Island has become drier and quieter and on the whole, the weekend looks much more settled for many parts of the country." MetService Meteorologist John Law said.

Clear, cold nights are on the cards for some spots, especially for tonight and overnight Friday into Saturday. "Clear skies and light winds are great conditions for temperatures to quickly drop away once the sun sets" Law explained. A particularly chilly start is forecast for the South Island on Friday morning with minimum temperatures dipping below freezing for many parts of Canterbury and Otago. The North Island can expect to wake up to some colder temperatures on Saturday, especially for the likes of the Central Plateau, Waikato and Wairarapa.

About southern Westland and Fiordland, cloud and spells of rain are likely at times this weekend as westerly winds return. During Sunday a southerly change is expected to push an area of rain northwards into Southland and Otago.

Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and any watches/warnings at metservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, @metservice on Twitter and at blog. metservice.com.

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