It's time to get out the winter woollies as cold temperatures and rain are set to hit this afternoon.

MetService is predicting heavy rain this afternoon with daily overnight temperatures dropping to 8-10 degrees Celsius.

A weather system sitting at the bottom of the North Island is barrelling its way up north bringing cool southerlies.

Media and communications meteorologist Dan Corbett says heavy rain will dampen the North Island from today.

'It's going to barrel its way through like a freight train, vroom straight through the station and doesn't even stop.

'A band of rain will work its way in this afternoon from the top of the North Island and Tauranga will see some of that rain in the later parts of the afternoon.

'The low will eventually push away and for the weekend the high pressure system will move in over the country but it will be cold and frosty.”
He says the high pressure will eventually make its way in but that will not be until around the middle of Saturday.