A mild winter is predicted in Niwa's latest climate outlook with above average temperatures for the North Island regions over June July August.

Cold snaps and frosts are still to be expected in some parts of the country.

Photo: file.

Rainfall over the quarter is forecast to be normal, or above normal, for the east of the North Island and the north of the South Island. Rainfall is likely to be in the near-normal range for all remaining regions.

Soil moisture levels and river flows in the west and east of the North Island are forecast to be near normal, and most likely to be below normal in the north of the North Island.

Relatively dry and sunny conditions for much of the North Island in May 2014 were caused by lower pressures than normal to the south and west of New Zealand, with slightly higher than normal pressures to the north of the country.

Rainfall was below normal for many eastern, central and northern parts of the North Island.

It was an especially dry month about Tauranga, Hicks Bay, Kerikeri, Whangarei, Napier and Blenheim, with less than 30 per cent of normal May rainfall recorded at these locations.

The pressure pattern resulted in an anomalous westerly flow over most of the country, bringing considerable rainfall to western and southern parts of the South Island.

Mean temperatures were above average (0.5 to 1.2°C) for the month of May across most of the South Island and parts of the southern and central North Island. The nation-wide average temperature in May 2014 was 11.4°C, 0.7C° above the 1971-2000 May average.

May was a particularly sunny month for most of the North Island, with well above normal or above normal sunshine hours recorded there.

Soil moisture in the North Island remains drier than normal for parts of Auckland and Northland, with considerable rainfalls required to bring soil moisture levels back to normal in those parts.

Soils about northern Gisborne, the Central Plateau and Hawke's Bay are also drier than normal. Soil moisture levels were near normal for most of the remaining areas of the New Zealand.