Good morning and happy Chinese New Year!

Today we are expecting a fine day but becoming cloudy tonight with light winds.

It's a one-clothing layer day today with a high of 27 and an overnight low of 19 degrees. Humidity is 97 per cent.

High tide is at 8.10am, low tide is at 2.20pm and high tide again at 8.20pm. Sea temperature is 21 degrees, and there's a sea swell of 1.3m. Sunset is at 8.10pm.

If you're going fishing today the best fish bite time is between 5.30 and 8.30pm.

This day in NZ history in 1770 James Cook sighted Banks 'Island'. Cook sighted Banks Peninsula from the Endeavour.

The following day he decided it was an island, which he named for the expedition's botanist, Joseph Banks.

In 1986 was the sinking of the Mikhail Lermontov. At 5.37pm on February 16 1986 the Soviet cruise liner Mikhail Lermontov hit rocks off Cape Jackson in the Marlborough Sounds.

In world history on this day in 1937 Dupont patented a new thread, nylon, which replaced silk in a number of products and reduced costs.

In 1951 Stalin contended the U.N. was becoming the weapon of aggressive war. In 1952 the FBI arrested ten members of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina.

In 1965 four people were held in a plot to blow up the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell and the Washington Monument.

In 1966 the World Council of Churches being held in Geneva, urged immediate peace in Vietnam.

In 1978 China and Japan signed a $20 billion trade pact, which was the most important move since the 1972 resumption of diplomatic ties.

Today is the birthday of US historian Henry Adams. Born in 1838 he was the son and grandson of the presidents, and once said "A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

To check out what's on today please go to our What's on page. Have a great day!