Heavy rain and gale winds are expected this week across much of New Zealand.

The MetService advise that a low pressure will move across central and northern New Zealand on Monday followed by a ridge across the country on Tuesday.

An active front is forecast to move north across the South Island on Wednesday and the North Island on Thursday.

These weather systems are expected to bring periods of heavy rain and gale to severe gale winds to many parts of New Zealand.

On Monday and Wednesday there is low confidence of warning amounts of rain in northern Westland and Buller, while the confidence is low for southern Westland and Fiordland on Wednesday. There is moderate confidence for rain accumulations to reach warning criteria about the Marlborough sounds, Wellington, Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay on Monday while the confidence is high for the Tararua Range.Also on Monday, there is low confidence of warning amounts of rain about Taranaki and
Taihape as indicated on the chart.

In addition, there is a moderate risk of severe west to northwest gales about Northland, Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula on Monday, and a moderate risk of severe gale southerlies in exposed parts of Marlborough Sounds, Wellington, Wairarapa late Monday and early Tuesday, and about coastal parts of Hawkes Bay and Gisborne on Tuesday.

On Wednesday there is moderate confidence of severe gale northwesterlies about Marlborough Sounds, Wellington and Wairarapa, while the confidence is low for severe gale westerlies about the Tararua District and central Hawkes Bay on Wednesday and early Thursday.

Finally, there is high confidence of severe gale northwesterlies about exposed parts of Marlborough, Canterbury High Country, Queenstown Lakes District, Southland including Stewart Island, and the Fiordland lakes on Wednesday and early Thursday while there is low confidence of severe gale southwesterlies about coastal Otago later on Wednesday and Thursday.