Canterbury and Otago could have a few days' reprieve from the rain which has drenched the regions since the weekend.
Over the next few days neither a high nor a low would sit over the country, WeatherWatch.co.nz analyst Philip Duncan said.
The country would be in a fairly neutral westerly flow which would create a few showers but also long sunny spells, he said.
Mr Duncan said it any showers over the next few days were more likely in the north and west of the North Island.
Most regions would see the sun in the next 48 hours, he said.
It was possible that temperatures could hit the 20 degree mark in a few isolated pockets.
More than 50 North Otago roads remained closed this afternoon, and caution was advised for those travelling on more 40 others. (Check North Otago road status here)
MetService has lifted all severe weather warnings for the regions, but it will take time to clean up the drenched land.
In Dunedin, a handful of roads remain closed after the rains and NZTA advises caution on many roads around the region
The Dunedin closures are: Mt Cargill Rd, from Upper Junction Rd to Green Rd; Sheppard Rd from Allans Beach Rd to Papanui Inlet Rd; Silverstream Valley Rd; Flagstaff/Whare Flat Rd, from Rollinsons Rd; McGrath Rd, from SH1 to Ramrock Rd. (Check Dunedin road conditions here).
Further inland at Middlemarch, Garthmyl Rd from Mt Ross Rd to Olive Ave is closed, along with Kirkland Rd from State Highway 87 to Garthmyl Rd and Mason Rd from Cardigan St to Ngapuna Rd.
In Waikouaiti, Ramrock Rd from Blucher Rd to Garden Bush Rd is closed.
North of the city, Waitaki District Council emergency services manager Chris Raine said the Kakanui and Shag rivers had peaked, and were now receding, but smaller streams remained severely swollen.
Rural water supplies had been cut off.
The Western Ngapara Road and Kakanui Valley Road leading into Oamaru were two of the almost 50 closed roads. Caution was urged on more than 30 others.
Officials in the region were meeting later this morning to discuss the situation.
Mr Raine said it could take up to two weeks for the region to recover from the rain.
Yesterday, flooding closed more than 30 rural roads and stranded some North Otago residents in their homes, leaving officials - somewhat ironically - worried about how those householders would access clean water.
"There are people isolated," Mr Raine said.
"Our viewpoint is that many of these are rural farms and should have good stocks of food. The problem will be if they [don't] have access to water."
Rural water schemes had been shut down, and it was hoped they would be back online soon.
Dunedin officials yesterday said the city stood up to the onslaught of persistent heavy rain, although the strain had started to show at Mt Cargill and on Otago Peninsula.
Dunedin City Council roading engineer Peter Standring said a "20m bite" of material had dropped on to Mt Cargill Rd in Dunedin yesterday, closing the road at mid-morning. It would not reopen until the weather cleared and an engineering assessment was completed.
"It's too unstable to let people go across."
Small slips were occurring around Otago Peninsula, in particular on Portobello Rd.
Rainfall in the hills around the city met the MetService's severe weather warning of 50mm-70mm.
Swampy Spur recorded 98mm in the 24 hours to 8pm, Sullivans Dam 73mm and Pine Hill 85.5mm. The stations are in the headwaters of the Leith and Silver Stream catchments.
The rainfall caused some slips around the city yesterday, including a bank about 1m from the front of a Buccleugh St, Northeast Valley, house. Owner Deborah Baird said the Dunedin City Council had assessed the remaining bank to be stable but was keeping an eye on it.
Hydrologist Dave Stewart said while Dunedin had received its share of the northeasterlies, it had "got off lightly" compared with towns and cities further north.
"It's wet and miserable but not cold."
The end was in sight, with the forecast predicting the weather to clear to cold, calm weather later this week, before another northeasterly front hit.
The rain was good news in the longer term, with spring just a few weeks away, he said.
In the long term, an El Nino weather pattern was threatening, which typically brought dry conditions.
- additional reporting APNZ
