It sure is chilly, and MetService is forecasting the cold weather to stick around.

Cold, windy southeasterlies are blowing across the North Island today (Monday). This means it's a good time to make use of the "feels like" temperature that factors in wind chill, found under Current Conditions on metservice.com. MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan explains, “These blustery conditions are due to the isobars bunching up between high pressure over the South Island and a low pressure system away to the northeast of the country.”

The southeasterly winds are also driving cloudy and showery weather into eastern areas, which may make stargazing tricky at the start of this week. Skies clear up tomorrow in the east of the South Island, then during Thursday further north.

As high pressure spreads northwards, winds ease in the North Island tomorrow, and most places around the country see long stretches of fine weather. Clear and still nights make for frosty mornings, but also favourable viewing conditions for the stars that signify the coming of Te Tau Hou (the Māori New Year).

On Friday morning, northwestern parts of both islands cloud over as the next weather system approaches from the Tasman Sea before rain sets in on the West Coast. “Eastern and southern areas have the best chance of seeing Matariki and Puanga before dawn, and we’ll be providing a cloud cover forecast for Friday morning closer to the time,” says Corrigan. The generally unsettled conditions spread across the country this Matariki long weekend as frontal systems pass over from the west.

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