New Year's Eve weather: Fine and calm for most of New Zealand

Happy New Year's Eve — it's going to be fine and calm for most as 2017 comes to an end tomorrow night.

It's been an at times wild weather year, with destructive storms, flash floods and snow all making an appearance before the country emerged into a sizzling late spring.

Kiwi summers can never be completely relied on down here in the roaring 40s, but MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said the forecast was good for New Year celebrations around the country.

"It's looking pretty decent all around."

In the North Island that meant light winds and clear skies for many, including in Auckland where a daytime high of 25C will dip only to the high teens overnight. Hamilton and Tauranga will have similar conditions, just slightly cooler overnight with lows in the
mid-teens.

There will be increasing cloud and strong northerlies in Wellington, and the daytime high of 22C will fall to 15C overnight.

Holiday hotspots are also looking good.

In Northland, where the three-day Northern Bass festival at Mangawhai concludes early New Year's Day, light winds, sunshine and temperatures in the mid to high 20s are expected.

Party-goers at the perennially popular Rhythm and Vines near Gisborne can expect similar conditions, as can those enjoying a lake escape in Taupo or beach time in Coromandel Peninsula.

Fine in north and east, wet in south

In the South Island, northern and eastern areas can expect a fine, warm day tomorrow.

A high of 27C in Christchurch will dip to 13C overnight, and Blenheim and Nelson also forecast to heat up to highs in the low to mid 20s, falling to the mid-teens overnight.

The forecast is less positive in the south.

Dunedin's 22C daytime high will drop to 10C overnight and there may be a few showers.

Rain is expected in Southland and up the West Coast, and revellers in Queenstown will need to pack a jacket, with a low of 10C overnight and a southerly change bringing some rain in the evening.

The first day of 2018 should dawn fine for most, although farmers in parts of Taranaki will be smiling with rain expected.

And there could be more for the rest of us.

A low coming down from the north of the country could bring "decent rainfall" to some areas, Murray said.

"Depending on where it tracks it could bring quite significant rainfall on Thursday or Friday. We're keeping a very close eye on that."

More would be known by Tuesday, she said.

Meanwhile, roads were late this week congested with holidaymakers travelling to destinations far and wide, as New Year's Eve approached.

Seven people have died on New Zealand roads since the holiday period began, among them two men killed in head-on smash in South Canterbury on Boxing Day.

They were named yesterday as Horton James Hill, 80, of Christchurch, and 31-year-old Matthew James Gilchrist, of Oamaru.