Heavy rain for parts of the South Island but mild temperatures across ...

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Temperatures appeared to be “pretty uniform right across the board” while a yellow heavy rain watch had been issued for Westland and Fiordland. MetService said.

Severe weather warnings are in place for parts of the South Island over the weekend with “mild” temperatures scheduled across the country.

An orange heavy rain warning had been issued for northern parts of the South Island until 5pm on Saturday.

A front over the central South Island would drift further south over the course of the weekend which could see an additional 40-60mm of rain about the ranges, but slightly less near the coast, on top of what they've already had over the last couple of days, according to MetService.

The heavy rain band would continue to shift towards Fiordland before moving west across the South Island on Monday.

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“We’ve just issued yellow heavy rain watches for the south part of Westland and Fiordland which starts from Saturday evening until early Sunday morning, as that band of rain drifted further southwards,” MetService meteorologist, Jessie Owen said.

Heavy rain watches and warnings were in place for northern and western parts of the country as well, as another front was due to move over the North Island during Sunday and Monday.

Strong wind watches were also in force for the upper North Island.

Temperatures were looking “pretty uniform right across the board,” Owen said, with a mixture of highs and lows from the top to the bottom of the country.

“Things are looking pretty mild for this time of year, we’ve got some air coming from the north which is leading to temperatures that are about average for this time of year, but a touch warmer.”

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Northeast winds may approach severe gale in exposed places, MetService said.

Warmer temperatures were booked in for parts of the far north like Kaitaia and Kerikeri, and also in places on the eastern side of the South Island like Christchurch and Kaikoura, which would see highs of 18-19C.

The southernmost parts of the south island were expected to see the coldest temperatures overall.

These included places like Invercargill and Gore which were looking at temperatures of about 13 or 14C, along with inland areas like Queenstown and Wanaka.

Similarly, inland of the North Island such as Taupō and Rotorua were expected to reach 14 or 15C.

“We’re looking at highs of around 17–19C right across the country and just a touch colder in the south, more like 13-14C for those far south places,” Owen said.