June has arrived and brings with it the promise of some colder weather."Time for skiers and boarders to get excited and for everyone to put a warm  hat and some gloves in their bag," said MetService meteorologist Rob Kerr.

"However, many will be wanting to keep their raincoats or umbrellas handy at the start of this week, as a broad complex low moves over the country  bringing significant rain to many parts of New Zealand," Kerr added.

MetService has issued Severe Weather Warnings and Watches for heavy rain on Tuesday into early Wednesday for the northern half of the North Island,and also for the top of the South Island covering Nelson and Marlborough.Heavy rain is also forecast for the lower South Island, affecting Southland, Clutha and Dunedin, and is expected to become persistent early on Wednesday morning.

As the low tracks away to the southeast from tomorrow, a cold southerly change sweeps over the country, bringing snow down to around 400 metres over Southland and Otago, and also about the Canterbury High country overnight Wednesday and into Thursday.

The cold air then spreads onto the North Island as we move into Friday,but southwesterlies ease towards the weekend as a ridge of high pressure moves over the country. This means a frosty start for some on Saturday, especially for the South Island and inland parts of the North Island.

Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and any watches/warnings at metservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, at MetService New Zealand on Facebook, @metservice on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com