It'll be a rainy weekend for most of New Zealand, with MetService having issued severe weather warnings and watches in several regions as a front moves in.
While it'll be wet, it'll also be balmy for large swathes of the country thanks to forecasted northerly winds, with Napier likely to hit 20C on Saturday.
Most of New Zealand will get rain over the weekend, with warnings in place at Northland, Gisborne and Nelson, and watches in Auckland, Taranaki and the Coromandel.
Northland has been told to brace for further 60-80mm of rain between 11pm on Friday and 6am on Saturday, while 100-130 mm could accumulate in Gisborne, peaking at 15-25mm an hour. In Nelson and the Marlborough Sounds, there may be 60mm or more of rainfall.
In all these regions, heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are possible and driving conditions may be hazardous.
"We've had a slow-moving ridge to the east for the last few days, also known as a 'blocking ridge' because it blocks the normal flow of weather systems, but it is now beginning to weaken," said MetService meteorologist Rob Kerr on Thursday.
"This means the low-pressure system and associated fronts this ridge has been holding over the Tasman Sea will move onto New Zealand, starting with the leading fronts over the next few days, then a weakening low at the start of next week."
While areas north of Canterbury should be warm, a couple of surges of southerly wind could make for cool days around the South Island, particularly in the east.
MetService says a large high pressure system will make for a settled start to spring.
