Bursts of heavy rain are forecast for western and central parts of the country during the next few days.

Unfortunately for farmers in many eastern areas, little rain is likely to reach the parched ground there.

Rain is setting in in parts of the North Island.

Monday will be warm and dry for most New Zealanders, with the far south and the west coast being the only areas to get decent rain, with the heaviest falls in Fiordland.

Tuesday looks to be another warm day, but heavy rain is forecast for the west of the South Island, where a severe weather warning and watch is in place.

Everywhere else will stay mostly dry apart from a few showers dotted about. 'Out in the south Tasman Sea, an area of low pressure is heading towards the country, and by Wednesday it is expected to push even more rain onto the west of the South Island,” says meteorologist Emma Blades.

'The rain will reach most other places in the country by the end of Wednesday, and linger on into Thursday.

'A strong northerly flow accompanies the rain, so areas exposed to a northerly wind could get some heavy falls.”

Any remaining rain gradually clears New Zealand on Friday, kindly leaving us with a pretty dry weekend for any outdoors plans. As usual, there will still be the chance of catching a rogue shower. In terms of the tropics, Tropical Cyclone Tatiana was downgraded to a tropical low on Sunday.

Tropical Cyclone Winston is forecast to track northeast, and while it poses no threat to New Zealand, it is likely to affect the southern islands of Fiji on Monday night through to Tuesday, before heading towards Tonga.