The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) seasonal climate outlook for November to January predicts temperatures across New Zealand will be above average.
But while it is already dry in some parts of Otago, forecasters are a long way from suggesting drought conditions are likely.
Niwa meteorologist-forecaster Seth Carrier said it was expected New Zealand would experience La Nina-like conditions in the next three months, even if it did not enter an ''official La Nina event''.
La Nina events are typically associated with more northeasterly flows which lead to milder-than-normal temperatures overall.
Northeasterly winds could ''pull'' moisture from the eastern Pacific, resulting in more rain near the coast, which was why the report predicted ''near normal'' levels of rainfall for coastal areas.
However, that moisture could dry out before it reached inland places such as the Central Otago and Queenstown-Lake districts.
Coastal Canterbury and Otago as well as the West Coast, Southern Alps, inland Otago and Southland are predicted to have lower-than-normal soil moisture levels and river flows over the next three months, meaning a drier-than-normal summer.
''Those are the areas that have a better chance of seeing a drier next three months compared to the coastal parts of Otago,'' Mr Carrier said.
Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes areas had already been ''very dry'' for October.
Queenstown's recent 30-day stretch with almost no rain was one of the longest dry stretches the area had experienced.
It was difficult to say if a drought was likely this summer.
''At this point, I think it's jumping the gun a bit to say that any sort of drought or adverse event would be on the horizon,'' Mr Carrier said.
But the continued dry and hot weather could be ''problematic'' for agriculture.
To climb back from that deficit [of rainfall], farmers would need above-average rain. The current thinking for the next three months was it was ''not very likely to happen''.
Niwa also predicted average water temperatures on the east coast of New Zealand would be warmer than usual in the next three months.
