Welcome to Autumn, Severe Cyclone Alfred + Cold Snap and mountain snow next week?:

Welcome to Autumn, after what was a let down of a summer in some regions over December and January, February was a much more settled month with warmer days and belts of high pressure across the country.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred, Category 3, currently lies to the east of Central Queensland and is forecast to remain offshore and track southeastward over the coming days, slowly weakening as it does so.

Alfred does not currently pose a severe weather risk to New Zealand, the system may move closer to the Queensland Coast next week - all depending on positions of high pressure. We advise to keep up to date with forecast track maps from the BOM: http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone

Temperature anomaly from 1st March - 10th March - each frame is 1 day.

A trend to much cooler weather, but also heavy rain and strong wind risks exist for parts of the country from overnight Monday, into Tuesday and Wednesday before easing, especially along the Eastern Coasts - keep an eye on our Significant Weather Outlook for more information over the coming days.

Click the (+) on the right to reveal more information

• Heavy Rain & Strong Wind Potential

  There is a risk for some significant weather, with heavy rain and strong to gale southerly winds the focus on Tuesday and Wednesday - our Significant Weather Outlook is updated each evening, by 9pm.

• Possible snow for mountains and ranges:

  There is the potential for snow along the Eastern South Island mountains and ranges on Tuesday and Wednesday above about 1200m, and also the chance for a dusting on the top of Mt. Ruapehu.

• Cold mornings to follow:

  Nippy mornings are expected following the strong cold southerly change - single digit lows are likely, possibly the lower single digits for Inland Regions of the South Island and Central North Island on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.