Mixed weather for Wellington anniversary weekend, swells warning for North Island

Wellingtonians can expect a mixed bag of weather heading into the city's anniversary weekend, while large swells are forecast for the North Island's east coast.

Temperatures are set to get up to 27 degrees Celsius in the Hutt Valley and up to 25 degrees in Wellington on Saturday.

MetService meteorologist John Law said the warm temperatures during the day would stick around into the evening.

"It is going to feel quite humid especially for our night times. We're still going to have a couple of very uncomfortable nights, parts of the Hutt Valley for example not dropping below 20 degrees Celsius over the next few nights so well worth keeping that in mind and try and get some cooler air flying through the bedroom," Law said.

Wellingtonians also need to watch out on Saturday for a few showers which were expected to clear on Sunday, he said.

"For Saturday, we're looking at rather a cloudy day with some strengthening north westerlies and we have got a bit of rain to watch out for as well," Law said.

"I think that's a bit of a cloudier and wetter looking day at the long weekend, the early showers hopefully clearing away during Sunday, hopefully a bit of better weather around for Sunday afternoon.

"Monday, the extra day of the long weekend around the southern parts of the North Island should be perhaps a better one at least for those western sides from Wellington up towards the Kāpiti Coast."

He said temperatures could reach 23-24 degrees on Sunday.

Large swells forecast for weekend

Surf Life Saving is urging people to be careful on the shore, with large swells forecast for the North Island this weekend.

Chief operations officer Chris Emmett expected swells of up to 3m along the east coast from Northland to the Bay of Plenty until Tuesday.

"We are now seeing forecasting for particularly challenging conditions on the east coast of the North Island, and we are urging caution," Emmett said.

"Large waves mean strong currents and unpredictable conditions."

Powerful waves could easily knock people off their feet, Emmett said.

"Strong surf will create strong currents," he said.

"Keep an eye on children, making sure to stay well away from the water. We also ask that storm-spectators and rock-fishers take extra care if spending any time on the rocks this week."

Emmett urged beachgoers to respect "no swimming" signs or red flags which signalled dangerous waters.

"Our suggestion is that people exercise common sense and be aware of the risks as the swell is expected to continue building throughout the weekend," he said.

"If the conditions are poor, we urge the public to reconsider their trip and stay out of the water."

He said clubs would be closely monitoring the weather this week.