Get out the barbie and ready the sunblock - summer across the country shouldn't be a washout.

Niwa yesterday released its seasonal climate outlook for December to February.

Climate scientist Georgina Griffiths said summer temperatures were likely to be typical across the country. The regions north of Taupo and the East Coast should expect quite a dry summer, she said.

Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and the Wairarapa were also expected to experience the dry conditions they'd had over the past few weeks, she said.

Everyone else should expect average rainfall levels.

"Summer is likely to be a bit of a different flavour from last year. Last year, the North Island, Nelson, Marlborough were very wet and it was very dry in Southland and the West Coast. It is kind of the reverse this year."

Wellington had been dry over the past three months, she said.

"For spring, it's looking like Wellington Airport is on track for its driest spring on record. It's currently at under half of its typical spring rainfall."

Places like Palmerston North and the Bay of Plenty were also sitting well below their average spring rainfall, she said.

Temperatures would also be typical across most of the country except for Taranaki, Wellington and the West Coast where it may be slightly cooler.

"Sea temperatures around New Zealand are rather cold at the moment, they are around 1 degree cooler than they typically are. We are expecting that coolness to continue over the summer period." Fairfax NZ

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