A fine Monday and Tuesday is on the cards for the Bay of Plenty, before another burst of rain on Wednesday.

This is the current forecast for the region from the MetService.

Light winds and fine weather is expected today and tomorrow, with rain expected to spread across the region on Wednesday through the Friday.

MetService is forecasting an active front, preceded by strong northwesterlies, to move east over the South Island on Tuesday.

"A low forms on the front over the north Tasman Sea late Tuesday, then deepens and approaches the country on Wednesday," says a MetService spokesperson.

"The low should move eastwards across central and northern New Zealand during Thursday. It is followed by a narrow ridge early Friday, then northwesterly winds over the South Island late Friday.

On Tuesday, there is moderate confidence of warning amounts of rain in Fiordland, but high confidence for Westland south of Otira, mainly about the ranges, and the Otago and Canterbury headwaters.

During Wednesday and Thursday, there is moderate confidence of warning amounts of rain in northern Westland, Buller, Nelson and western Marlborough - including the Sounds, but the confidence increases to high for the ranges of northwest Nelson.

There is low confidence that rainfall amounts will reach warning criteria for much of northern and central parts of the North Island from Taranaki to Taihape and Gisborne northwards during Wednesday and Thursday, but the confidence increases to moderate for eastern Bay of Plenty on Thursday.

In addition, the MetService advises that there is low confidence of severe northwest gales about the Canterbury High Country and Wellington including the Remutaka Hill Road on Tuesday.

There also low confidence of north to northeast winds reaching severe gale strength in exposed parts of the North Island from Taranaki, Taihape and Gisborne northwards during Wednesday and Thursday.