A broad ridge of high pressure over the country starts to weaken on Wednesday and a front should move onto the far south of the South Island late in the day.

On Thursday, the front is expected to move north over eastern parts of the country, bringing a period of rain and brief snow to about 500 metres for the south and east of the South Island. However, amounts of rain or snow should be well below warning levels. A slow moving high is expected to develop east of New Zealand late Thursday and Friday, directing a northeast flow over the country.