MetService meteorologist Katie Hillyer said rain and intermittent showers were forecast for most of Otago and Southland, for most of the public holiday.
Despite that forecast, the southern regions were among the better places to be, she said.
"While there is wet weather, basically over the entire country at some point over this Easter weekend, the further south you go, the better it will be."
She said a low-pressure system in the Tasman Sea was coming down from the north and directing northeast winds over the country, bringing heavy rain and very strong winds.
"But in this particular northeast flow, Southland will be quite sheltered, obviously because it’s protected by the rest of the South Island.
"Otago will cop a little bit more in the northeast flow, just because they are a little bit more exposed to that northeasterly.
"So on Good Friday, it looks like there'll be periods of rain, but it's definitely nowhere near what the rest of the country will be experiencing."
She said there may be a reprieve on Saturday.
The weather was expected to be cloudy in Invercargill, and there would be intermittent showers about the rest of Otago and Southland.
"So there will be some good breaks in there where people can go out and enjoy the outdoors a little bit, particularly on Saturday morning, it seems.
"For the rest of the time, I think families should plan for some indoor activities."
She said there were still several days to go before the holiday started, so it was possible the forecast might change slightly between now and then.
"There's definitely going to be rain. But just how much is going to fall, and when, is what might change in the next few days.
"If people want to nail down what time the dry spells will be, they should keep an eye on the forecast."
For large areas of the rest of the country, the weather was expected to be much wetter and windier.
She said MetService was likely to issue heavy rain and strong wind warnings as the large, slow-moving low remained over the Tasman Sea and continued to direct a strong, moist northeasterly over the country.
That low was expected to move slowly southwards during the long weekend, before passing over the South Island to the east, bringing a spell of drier weather next week.
Easter forecast
| From Good Friday to Easter Monday | ||||
| Good Friday | Saturday | Easter Sunday | Easter Monday | |
| Dunedin: | Occasional rain 16°C | Occasional rain 18°C | Rain 17°C | Few showers 15°C |
| Oamaru: | Occasional rain 16°C | Occasional rain 18°C | Showers 17°C | Partly cloudy 16°C |
| Alexandra: | Few showers 18°C | Showers clearing 19°C | Rain 20°C | Few showers 17°C |
| Wānaka: | Mostly cloudy 17°C | Occasional rain 19°C | Rain 20°C | Few showers 17°C |
| Queenstown: | Mostly cloudy 17°C | Rain developing 19°C | Rain 18°C | Partly cloudy 16°C |
| Balclutha: | Few showers 15°C | Showers developing 16°C | Occasional rain 14°C | Cloudy 13°C |
| Gore: | Mostly cloudy 17°C | Showers developing 18°C | Rain 16°C | Few showers 14°C |
| Invercargill: | Mostly cloudy 17°C | Showers developing 17°C | Rain clearing 15°C | Cloudy 15°C |
| Source: MetService |
