You may have to wait until after Christmas for hot summer weather

  • 06/12/2018

If you're expecting hot summer weather in the lead up to Christmas, you may have to wait.

That hot, settled weather is on the way, but it comes with a catch - cool days and some scattered showers, WeatherWatch says. 

As of Friday New Zealand will enter a drier weather pattern with more high-pressure weather systems, but it will probably still feel like spring at times, head forecaster Philip Duncan says.

"Overnight lows tonight in some sheltered South Island areas will be closer to freezing," Mr Duncan says.

"Then, by Friday afternoon, these same areas may be closer to 30 degrees". 

Southerly winds are expected to pick up across the country over the next couple of weeks, which will mean some coastal areas may be cooler during the day. 

Parts of southern South Island may see scattered showers, although Southland should be drier than usual. 

Over the next seven days, New Zealand will be drier than normal for this time of the year.

But many people may have to wait until the end of the month or the start of January to feel true summer conditions.

Most North Island regions will see showers on Thursday but the weather is expected to clear up for most of the country for a fine weekend, MetService says. 

It will be mostly dry across the country on both Saturday and Sunday. However, the southern South Island could see some showers.

Newshub.