A blood supermoon and heavy swells are what the Matakana Coast has in store over the next 48 hours. 

Tonight, a ‘supermoon’ will coincide with a total lunar eclipse for the first time since 1982, but unfortunately it may be a bit hard to catch a glimpse.

MetService meteorologist Angus Hines said cloud was likely to blanket the night sky across the North Island's East Coast, and potentially Northland, Auckland and down to Hamilton.

A supermoon occurs when the Moon is at its closest point in its orbit around Earth, making it appear much larger than usual.

A ‘blood moon’ happens when Earth's Moon is in a total lunar eclipse. The view in the sky is striking as the usually whiteish moon becomes red or ruddy-brown. 

The lunar eclipse is due to last five hours, beginning at 8.47p.m. on Wednesday, and ending at about 1.49 a.m. the next morning.

The period of totality where the Moon is completely hidden from the Sun by Earth, and when the reddening was most noticeable, is due to begin at 11.11 p.m.

Back down here on Earth, MetService is forecasting a deep, slow-moving low northeast of New Zealand which will direct a strong, moist southeast flow across the North Island over the next few days. 

The east coast of the North Island will see rain, strong winds and, in some cases, heavy swell. 

These swells will peak midweek. With the combination of the king tide expected over the next few days we could see combined waves rising to around 7-8 metres, potentially causing coastal inundation for parts of the upper North Island.

Thursday and Friday have been forecast to be pretty great surf at the local beaches, with good a long swell period, little or no wind, and swell height greater than a metre.