Unsettled weather continues to be the theme for New Zealand this week.

MetService is forecasting a showery few days for eastern areas, while the story in the west is fine weather with gusty winds at times.

Wet weather continues over the lower North Island and northern South Island today, with scattered rain falling as snow as low as 800 metres in Marlborough, extending to the Canterbury High Country tonight.

An Orange Road Snowfall Warning is in force for the Lewis Pass until late this afternoon, when southeasterly winds spread the rain further south into Canterbury.

“This southeasterly shift sets up the weather pattern for the next few days, driving patchy rain over eastern areas of both islands and keep a lid on daytime temperatures,” says MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon.

Elsewhere, there’s plenty of sun to be had. Fine breaks develop in western areas today and stick around through the rest of the working week.

However, sustained easterly winds mean that while the weather is looking brighter, there could be a blustery couple of days in store for places like the West Coast, Tasman, Nelson and the Manawatū.

Tuesday morning, patches of fog clear in the morning for Northland, Auckland and Waikato.

A few showers spread over Northland and Auckland later in the day, affecting Northland until the next wave of wet weather this weekend.

“While it’s still a few days out, the weekend is looking on the wet side, especially for the North Island and upper South Island.

“With the potential of heavy rain for some of those areas, it would be a good idea to stay up to date with the latest forecast on MetService.com,” Ngaire advises.