The first week of February is proving wetter than the whole month of January for many areas of the North Island, but not in Tauranga - yet.

In January Tauranga had 12.2mm of rain, while over the first two days of February some 9mm of rain has been measured in the airport gauge, although more is expected this evening that might tip the balance.

In just two February days, Tauranga has seen almost as much rain than for the entire month of January.

A humid northwesterly flow across the country will continue to bring some heavier downpours, especially in North Taranaki, Westland and Fiordland, where rainfall warnings remain in force for today.

January was a dry and warm month for many parts of the country and it was also one of the sunniest on record.

In Auckland, just over 308 hours of sunshine were recorded during January, making it the sunniest month on record. Tauranga recorded 327.5 hours of sunshine, just six minutes short of the sunniest month in Tauranga since 1935.

Dunedin observed its sunniest January, and Hamilton its fourth sunniest.

Cloudier skies and spells of rain are set to be the theme of the weather for the North Island today, while in the South Island thunderstorms are again a threat for parts of Southland and Otago.

For Canterbury and eastern Marlborough the dry weather holds on for another day, with temperatures set to rise into the high 20s for many spots east of the Southern Alps.

Tuesday is expected to be a brighter day across the North Island, with high temperatures returning for Hawkes Bay and Gisborne.

Meanwhile a cooler southwesterly change will spread northwards across the South Island, bringing a scattering of showers and cooler temperatures.

Forecast temperatures in Christchurch are expected to drop from 30C on Monday to a cooler 21C on Tuesday .

The southwesterly change continues to move across New Zealand over the rest of the week leading to a cooler and showery set up for Waitangi Day, although the showers should ease through the weekend.

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