Sunday Night

A front over the South Island is expected to move slowly north tomorrow, as a deep low over the Tasman Sea approaches the upper North Island. Heavy rain over the upper South Island, is expected to spread north over the lower North Island tomorrow, with south to southeast gales developing. Meanwhile, an active band of rain is expected to pass south over the upper North Island, bringing some heavy falls and possible thunderstorms from Northland through to the Bay of Plenty. Also, a cold front moves north over the lower South Island bringing a period of snow showers to 300 metres about parts of Fiordland, Southland, Otago and Canterbury during the morning, before reaching the rain-band about the upper South Island, allowing snow to lower to about 500 metres in north Canterbury and Marlborough during the afternoon. Rain and strong southerlies are expected to spread over much of the North Island early Wednesday, before the low moves away east, and winds and rain begin to eas This is a significant weather event for many places, especially for central areas, and people are advised to refer to the current Warnings and Watches for further details.