If things have seemed a little shaky with the weather recently, get ready for more of the same as spring gets under way and weather predictions rain down.

MetService and Niwa are forecasting unsettled weather in Manawatu in the coming months, with westerly winds predominating.

If the weather forecast were a school report, the student would be classed as ordinary.

The numbers for both rain and temperature are being called average, which means temperatures around 14 to 17 degrees.

"You might get to grab an additional degree here or there as the spring season progresses," MetService meteorologist Daniel Corbett said.

Palmerston North had an average August temperature of 10.5 Celsius, which was up 1.3 degrees on normal and is the second highest for that time of year since 1991.

August was generally uneventful, apart from an August 13 hail storm in Palmerston North, accompanied by heavy rain which caused surface flooding.

The future wind, rain and occasional patch of sun is dictated by an El Nino weather pattern in the Pacific but this pattern is causing consternation among meteorologists, as it is not behaving as it should.

Winds were weaker than they should be and were expected to lose strength even more as summer progressed.

Fishermen won't be able to blame the weather if they can't catch fish as sea temperatures are expected to be average with middling rainfall levels and river flows for Manawatu, Whanganui and the central North Island.

Mr Corbett said it was unlikely that any weather extremes were on the cards.

Frequent northeast winds produced an unusually mild August across the country and more of the same is coming.

"The last week is typical for the next three to four weeks. Average amounts of rain and temperatures 14 to 17 degrees."

He said El Nino tended to favour westerly systems and, for the next three to four weeks, spells of rain plus strengthening winds will be west to northwest, turning to southwesterlies.

As El Nino weakens later on, westerlies won't be so predominant.

"Hopefully we'll get enough decent weather for the beach and the barbecues, and the farmers will get what they need," Mr Corbett said.

- © Fairfax NZ News