Tropical cyclone Uesi will near New Caledonia on Tuesday.

Tropical cyclone season is upon us and a new storm is brewing in the South Pacific.

Tropical Cyclone Uesi recently formed near Vanuatu and is expected to near New Caledonia on Tuesday before it tracks south.

Although it's possible Uesi would move into the Tasman Sea, it's not yet clear whether New Zealand would be affected by any remnants of it as an ex-tropical cyclone.

MetService meteorologist Andrew James said Uesi was upgraded to a category 3 cyclone on Tuesday and was being monitored by Fiji's Meteorological Service.

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Satellite imagery It's not yet clear whether any remnants of tropical cyclone Uesi will make it to New Zealand.

A category 3 cyclone has mean winds between 64-85 knots (118-157kmh) with a central pressure 970-945 hectopascals, Fiji's Meteorological Service states on its website.

Earlier forecasts from Fiji indicated that the tropical cyclone would strengthen to category 3, before tracking south and then weakening.

It was expected to pass close to New Caledonia during the day and overnight on Tuesday, bringing squally rainfall, gusty winds, and rough seas.

After that, there were earlier suggestions it could move into the Tasman Sea.

However James said it's not yet clear exactly where the tropical cyclone was heading.

It was also too early to tell whether any possible remnants could impact New Zealand, but he said there was no threat to the country this week.

Kiwis can expect hot, dry weather for the next few days due to a ridge of high pressure lingering over the country until about Sunday, James said.

That warm weather would mostly affect those in the North Island, as a cold front moves over the South Island on Thursday.

The front will move slowly and bring scattered showers to some places before weakening on Friday.

It would then be followed by another ridge of high pressure, just in time for the weekend.

Auckland was forecast to have a mostly fine week, with high temperatures reaching between 24-26 degrees Celsius.

MetService MetService National Forecast 10 February 2020.

Wellington would also have a mostly fine week, with temperatures ranging between 19C-23C. Some cloud was expected to increase on the weekend.

For Christchurch, there would be fine weather up until Friday when some showers set in. It's expected to be a cloudy weekend, however a high of 28C is forecast on Sunday.

And in Dunedin, there would be fine weather until showers set in on Friday, with the temperature dropping down to a high of just 14C. Although Saturday would clear and a high of 21C is predicted, further rain would set in on Sunday.

There's been a mixed bag of weather across the country recently.

Much of New Zealand is in desperate need of rain, with widespread drought in the upper North Island.

However the south of the South Island is still assessing flood damage after widespread flooding caused by torrential rain last week.