Thunderstorms and hail have been reported in the Bay of Plenty as a weather system moves across the country

A SunLive reader said hail, thunder and lightning hit Paengaroa this afternoon.

The MetService forecast is partly cloudy this afternoon with a few showers, possibly heavy and thundery, with hail, clearing this evening.

Friday night is expected to be unseasonably chilly for many North Island locations due to the cooler air mass and the settled conditions expected with the ridge, said MetService meteorologist Ciaran Doolin.

“However, the reprieve for the South Island doesn’t last long as a strengthening northerly flow builds over the country on Saturday ahead of another front approaching from the Tasman Sea,” Doolin said.

The front moves up the South Island on Sunday, bringing extensive rain with heavy falls in the west, before becoming stationary over the central part of the country into the coming working week.

The North Island, on the other hand, should experience mostly fine conditions through the weekend.

The upside for South Islanders is that temperatures will be fairly warm by September standards for eastern places, courtesy of the warming of the northerly air as it descends the eastern side of the Southern Alps.

Early on Monday morning a partial solar eclipse will be visible in Aotearoa, with the southeastern South Island looking like the best spot to catch a glimpse.