Severe winds and heavy rain set to hit central NZ, cold trough forecast to hit upper North Island this evening

The first week of spring is looking pretty wintry, with gale-force winds, heavy snow or heavy rain predicted for some parts of New Zealand.

MetService has issued a severe weather warning for strong, gale-force southerlies around Wellington and Marlborough through to tomorrow morning.

Heavy rain is likely around the Tararua Ranges, Wellington and Wairarapa.

And there’s heavy snow watches around the eastern and southern South Island.

"The transition from winter to spring can often bring turbulent weather," Metservice explained yesterday, as meteorologists there predicted a "very cold, very windy" week ahead.

"The (cold) trough moves over central New Zealand by midday Monday, then over the upper North Island Monday evening," said MetService meteorologist Andy Best, adding that the same system could bring snow to Southland, parts of Fiordland, Otago Canterbury and Marlborough.