Christchurch is in for a mostly dry but cool weekend, before rain is expected to arrive on Monday.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said cloud was lingering over Christchurch today and was likely to remain into the night.

The city is forecast to drop to about 2 degrees on Saturday morning, before reaching a high of 12 degrees.

Ferris said while it would not be “bone-chillingly cold”, anyone heading out early for Saturday sport or weekend activities would need to wrap up warm.

“It might be that a little bit of sunshine peaks out in the afternoon, but I expect that would be brief at best,” he said.

Saturday is expected to be relatively calm across Canterbury, with very little wind around, making it the better day for some outdoor activities despite the cooler temperatures.

Ferris said Sunday would bring a slightly milder start, with Christchurch expected to drop to about 3 degrees in the morning before warming up to 18 degrees in the afternoon.

A northwesterly flow is expected to build over the South Island, bringing more sunshine and warmer temperatures for much of Canterbury.

“Sunday is going to be the warmer one, just with a bit of a west-northwest breeze in the afternoon,” Ferris said.

The forecast is expected to be broadly similar across Canterbury, although South Canterbury may see cloud arrive earlier than North Canterbury as a weather system approaches from the southwest.

Ferris said Monday was likely to bring some wet weather, which would be welcome news for many across the region.

“There will be some rain on Monday. We’ll call it rain, rather than scattered showers,” he said.

However, he said it was not expected to bring a large amount of rain at this stage.

Overall, Canterbury can expect a dry weekend, a chilly start on both Saturday and Sunday, a warmer Sunday afternoon, and a reasonable chance of rain to start the new week.