A short lull in the strong westerly winds that have been felt across most of New Zealand is forecast for today.

After the brief respite, MetService is forecasting a return of windy conditions over the South Island on Wednesday. Gale northwesterlies will be the prelude to an active cold front crossing the country.

Meanwhile, the North Island is set for a mainly fine week until the front reaches there late Friday.

"Springtime westerlies have well and truly arrived over New Zealand this week, with the same areas that saw gusts close to 200km/h over the weekend set for another round of blustery westerlies between Wednesday and Friday," says MetService meteorologist Alain Baillie.

"Although at this stage we aren’t expecting them to be as strong as what was experienced this past weekend."

The strongest wind gusts over the weekend were:

-Cape Turnagain 246km/h – one of the highest ever officially recorded in the country

-Remutaka Summit 187km/h

-Aoraki/Mt Cook Airport187 km/h

-Castlepoint 174km/h

-South West Cape (Stewart Island) and Mt Kaukau 163km/h

-Kelburn 131km/h – the strongest recorded northerly there in 13 years

The west of the South Island is also in for another drenching, with heavy rain considered likely for Fiordland, Westland and Buller later this week.

Rain east of the Alps, along with snow melt may be enough to bring rivers to high levels, Baillie went on.

"Keep an eye on the MetService Warnings page https://www.metservice.com/warnings/severe-weather-outlook for updates as the situation unfolds."

The northwesterlies ahead of the front will mean elevated temperatures for eastern parts of both islands, with maximums in the mid-twenties expected on Wednesday and Thursday (Ashburton is forecast to reach 24°C on Wednesday and Napier 26°C on Thursday), around 8 to 10°C above average for this time of year.

"The eastern South Island will certainly notice the passage of the front, with Friday’s maximums dropping to between 9 to 15°C from Ashburton southwards. Snow is also possible above 800 metres in Canterbury on Friday afternoon."

A large high will dominate the North Island’s weather this week, meaning sunny days for most but the possibility of foggy mornings on Wednesday and Thursday in western and northern areas.