Settled weather well into next week - some areas starting to look a bit dry

Tuesday, 14 November 2017

Largely settled weather looks to have set in until well into next week, which doesn't mean there won't be any rain but probably not much.

The cause of the mostly dry outlook is a ridge of high pressure that moved onto the country on Monday, MetService expects it to stick around into next week.

The resulting run of good days is a bit unusual for this time of year.

'November  typically brings quite changeable weather so a long, settled spell like this is a little bit unusual for this time of year,' MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said.

That said, the forecast for Tuesday does have some showers in it for many areas. 

For the top half of the North Island, while it should be mostly fine, there could be a few showers in the mix. Some could be heavy, and possibly even thundery from Northland to Bay of Plenty.

It's not looking great in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay, where it's expected to be a mostly cloudy day with occasional showers.

A few showers are also possible in Buller, Nelson and Marlborough, mostly about the ranges.

A fine Tuesday is forecast for the area from Taranaki to Wellington, including Wairarapa, and for the Kaikōura Coast to Southland, including Westland and Fiordland.

In Auckland there's a possibility of a few showers developing late morning, with a high of 19 degrees Celsius. Wellington is expected to be fine, with morning cloud, southerly breezes and a high of 16C.

Christchurch, where it's NZ Trotting Cup Day at Addington, is also expected to have a mostly fine day, with morning cloud, light winds and a 16C high.

While there's a lot of dry weather ahead, MetService said a low developing to the north of New Zealand may bring some rain to the top of the North Island this weekend.

Glassey said isolated showers were also still likely in some places, mainly due to afternoon heating in inland areas.

And while there's plenty to like about a run of settled days, some parts of the country are starting to look a bit dry.

In much of Northland the soil is considerably drier than usual. Much of the lower North Island is also looking a bit dry, as is the top of the South Island.