Highs that parked over New Zealand during January are expected to return to the country in the second week of February.

The MetService outlook for February indicates a pattern change to cooler southwesterlies to start the month.

Three days of rain is predicted in the Bay over the next week-and-a-half.

'The southwesterlies bring some welcome relief from the extreme heat of January, and push showers or rain across New Zealand,” says MetService meteorologists Georgina Griffiths.

'Tropical Cyclone Ola may also feed some moisture into the New Zealand region in the short-term.

'However, the highs are expected to return to the South Island during the second week of February, and are likely to remain there for much of the month.”

Low pressures are expected to the north of the country during February, and may intermittently provide some rain from the tropics for northern New Zealand.

A drier than normal February is forecast for the South Island. Above normal February rainfall is expected for Northland, and possibly also Auckland and the Coromandel too.

For the remainder of the country, near normal February rainfall is likely.

The outlook for the Bay this week looks mainly fine, apart from two days of rain predicted on Thursday and Friday.

Daily highs are expected to remain around the 26 to 28 degree mark, with overnight lows fluctuating from 11 to 18 degrees this week.