A ridge of high pressure holds strong for the rest of the working week, bringing settled and dry conditions across Aotearoa, says MetService.

The majority of the country will see partly cloudy or foggy mornings, followed by fine afternoons.

In the Bay of Plenty, it was a chilly start with 6C at 6am. The MetService is forecasting a daily high of 19C.

No rain is expected for the region, but further south, things are looking a bit wetter.

'A heavy rain watch has been issued for Fiordland and the ranges of Westland south of Harihari,” says MetService meteorologist Ashlee Parkes.

'Periods of heavy rain are expected for these areas from 6am Tuesday morning, with thunderstorms also possible for Fiordland. Scattered falls will spill further east into the Southern Lakes, across to Dunedin and south through to Southland in the afternoon and evening.”

This feature will stall over Westland on Wednesday, before easing and clearing during the overnight period.

Settled conditions then return and persist for the rest of the working week.

'There will be a few showers for Stewart Island on Thursday while Hawke's Bay and Gisborne will also see a few on Friday.”

After the past run of cold and frosty mornings, temperatures will return to normal for most.

'The front will bring a northwest flow across the South Island mid-week. Eastern areas will therefore see warmer than average temperatures.

'Christchurch is forecast to reach a maximum of 22C on Tuesday, and Blenheim looks to hit 23C on Wednesday.”

Unsettled conditions are on the horizon for the weekend, but until then, many areas are in for another dry spell with a lot of centres already below their typical rain accumulation for the year so far.