Thunderstorms, heavy rain on the cards for parts of North Island

The school holidays is forecast to end on a sodden note for many, with thunderstorms and heavy rain on the cards for parts of the North Island.

MetService said the forecast for Auckland on Friday painted a picture suited to indoor activities.

"Periods of rain, becoming persistent and heavier by afternoon, with thunderstorms possible from evening. Northerlies, strong for a time this afternoon," the forecaster said.

'Very active weather on the way' - watch on TVNZ+

It was a similar story for Northland, with the weather getting worse as the day progressed, with thunderstorms and heavy rain forecast from the afternoon.

Further south, Bay of Plenty is also in for a wet day, which could see the second T20 between the Black Caps and Australia face interruptions tonight.

A heavy rain watch is in place for the region from 3pm until 9am on Saturday morning.

"Periods of heavy rain, and amounts may approach warning criteria. Moderate chance of upgrading to a warning," MetService said.

The cricket is due to kick off at 7.15pm (weather permitting) and can be watched free to air on TVNZ+.

Things were looking a bit better down south, with showers sprinkled in with sunshine for most regions from Taupō down.

However, it will be a lot chillier, with Timaru forecast for a high of 4C and Queenstown could only reach a teeth-chattering 3C.

There is also a heavy rain watch in place for North Otago and Dunedin from 4am on Saturday morning until 7pm the same evening.

Speaking to Breakfast, MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said the long range forecast was not looking much better.

"Things remain a little bit unsettled into the start of next week, but really it's Tuesday we are looking at with the next large weather system.

"We will see rain and gusty winds start to kick in," she said.

It's not all bad news, with eastern and northern parts of the country set to remain in the high teens and low 20s as we move closer to summer.