• Auckland, Tauranga and Hamilton are tipped to have a blue-sky week with temperatures in the mid-20Cs.
• Napier and East Coast towns can finally expect a clearer week after miserable holiday weather.
• Christchurch will remain cool but calm next week, while Queenstown is in for a stunner.

Summer is expected to finally arrive for some parts of the country that endured rain and cold over the Christmas-New Year period as a week of clearer skies is expected.

That includes the East Coast, which should bask in sunshine, and Wellington, where the weather will gradually clear and warm up over next week, MetService forecasts.

Conditions in the South Island will be more mixed, with Queenstown’s week shaping up as a stunner, while in Christchurch it is set to be cool but calm after a holiday period in which ferry crossings and dolphin tours were cancelled due to inclement weather.

Auckland, meanwhile, will lead the way as it’s tipped to have a picturesque week of gorgeous sunshine and low-to-mid-20C temperatures.

That starts over the weekend with 24C and 23C forecast for today and tomorrow.

Source / Niwa

Whangārei could get showers tomorrow and late next week but will still have some fine days, with a top of 24C today and the thermometer expected to sit in the mid-20s all week.

Hamilton could get up to 27C on Wednesday as it looks forward to a lovely week, starting with a top of 25C today and the chance of some evening showers.

Tauranga is also looking at a possible shower today and a top of 23C but should then have a gorgeous week through to at least Thursday.

Rotorua weather will follow the same pattern, with a shower possible today and then fine weather through to Thursday.

Napier starts to turn the corner on its miserable holiday weather as temperatures mostly hover in the low 20s but skies should clear up for fine days on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wellington will stay cold with temperatures of 16C and 15C today and tomorrow respectively but should warm up towards the second half of the week.

Christchurch residents will also have to make do with cold and cloudy summer skies and temperatures of 16C-19C during the week.

Source / Niwa

That’s in stark contrast to conditions over the hills in Queenstown, where a high of 19C today and chance of a shower should turn into fine and warm weather from Sunday to Tuesday, with tops as high as 26C.

The turn for the better comes after fellow forecaster Niwa just issued a new outlook picking above-average warmth for the next three months.

That’s likely to still come with a mixed bag of sub-tropical rain deluges and also dry spells.

While last year was New Zealand’s fourth-hottest December, temperatures then took a plunge over the opening days of 2025.

Fortunately, that glum pattern wasn’t expected to hold throughout the rest of summer, with temperatures likely to be above average for the whole of the North Island, Niwa said.

In the South Island, there was an even chance of temperatures being near average or above average.