The sub-tropical weather system which brought torrential thundery downpours to the Bay of Plenty will continue to ease, allowing for drier and more settled weather to return fof the last day of the year.

The MetService is forecasting sunshine for Tauranga for the next three or four days, with some creeping in on Friday.

New Year's Day is looking fine according to the MetService.

Temperatures are expected to remain in the mid-20s for daily highs with the overnight lows around 15 degrees.

Media and communications meteorologist Dan Corbett says New Year's Eve should be looking a lot drier than recent days across much of the country, after we finally get a break in the unsettled spell of weather.

'An active trough moving across the country this afternoon will bring a further risk of showers and thunderstorms to some areas, but New Year's Eve should be a much drier and brighter day as a weak ridge of high pressure builds across the country from the northwest.

'This ridge will still be hanging on in many places at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, bringing mostly dry conditions. However, a new front will begin to bring damp weather up the west coast of the South Island by Tuesday afternoon, followed by the chance for some 'Nature's fireworks' after dark.” This trough will bring the risk for some wet weather across many parts of the country for the first day of 2014.

Skies clear briefly on Wednesday but strong northwesterlies, with heavy rain in the west, are expected to be the flavour for the remainder of the week.