Hot weather is set to continue into the long weekend for much of the country, with heat alerts issued for parts of the Bay of Plenty this weekend as forecasters warn of hot days and little overnight relief.
MetService meteorologist Alec Holden said Whakatāne was set to bear the brunt of the heat, with heat alerts issued for Saturday and Sunday due to scorching daytime heat and elevated overnight temperatures.
"Whakatāne is expected to reach around 30C, and overnight temperatures are only dropping to about 18C," Holden said.
Holden told 1News the heat was driven by a combination of settled weather, strong sunshine, and warmer, drier winds coming from inland.
"It's going to be a very warm day, and a very hot night," he said.
Nearby, Tauranga was forecast to experience similar conditions, with temperatures expected to peak at around 29C over the coming days.
Holden said that although temperatures in Tauranga sat just below the threshold of a heat alert, residents should still take precautions as conditions would remain "hot and humid".
People in affected areas were advised to seek shade and limit strenuous outdoor activity during the hottest parts of the day.
Across the rest of the North Island, the weekend was expected to bring generally settled conditions, with scattered cloud in the mornings and evenings breaking into fine afternoons for most areas.
Showers were forecast along parts of the East Coast, including Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay, as well as sectors of the Waikato and Waitomo coastline heading into Sunday.
Wetter conditions were forecast for the South Island, particularly for the far south on Saturday, where the heaviest rain was expected.
MetService said that rain was forecast to move northwards over the course of the weekend, gradually weakening as it spreads.
Christchurch could expect to see mostly cloudy conditions today and tomorrow, while other parts of the South Island could experience periods of rain followed by drier weather as the system moved through.
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