Another week of warm and mostly dry weather is predicted for the Bay of Plenty as high pressure zones linger across the country.

The North Island remains under the influence of the ridge of high pressure all week, with mostly fine weather expected.

Another week of fine weather is predicted by the MetService.

Warm afternoons should help showers to bubble up inland; otherwise it's more of the same summery weather for most places says MetService Meteorologist Peter Little.

A subtropical low passes well east of New Zealand later this week, which is expected to build easterly swells onto the North Island's east coast.

'It's going to be beach weather across much of the North Island this week, but people heading to eastern shores later in the week need to be aware of the potential for increased wave heights,” says Peter.

A front is forecast to move onto the West Coast during Friday and weaken over central New Zealand during Saturday. It brings some wet weather to the West Coast, but little if any rain to eastern parts of the South Island.

'Although we are expecting some showers for Canterbury and Otago this week, it isn't the prolonged period of wet weather that many farmers and gardeners are hoping for,” adds Peter.

Hot northwest winds will keep the temperatures high ahead of the front, especially in the east. It has been a dry start to the year for many places, especially those east of the main mountain ranges.

'The topography of New Zealand has a large influence on rainfall distribution,” says Peter.

'There hasn't been much rain anywhere in the country, and what we have seen has been blocked from the east of the South Island by the Southern Alps.”