The start of the week sees a new wave of weather brought on by fronts from the Tasman Sea. MetService is forecasting that a wet west and warm east will dominate the first part of this week.

The fronts bring unsettled weather over the coming days and paint the western South Island with heavy rain from this evening (Monday). MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane says: “Parts of Westland and Fiordland are under Heavy Rain Watches or Warnings. There’s a good chance heavy rain will make it over into the headwaters of the Canterbury and Otago lakes and rivers as well.“

The atmosphere at the start of this week is also marked by instability, adding thunderstorms to the mix. The thunderstorm activity will be more likely for western areas of the North and South Islands, though not everyone will get one. “Some of those could be accompanied by sudden gusty and squally conditions, so people are advised to take extra care,” Makgabutlane cautions.

The fronts also blow over much of the country with strong northwesterly winds, and central parts are under a Strong Wind Watch for potential severe gales in places exposed to those northwesters.

In the eastern North Island, those northwesters play a role in continuing the trend of persistently warm temperatures that have affected the region since last Friday. “We’re keeping a close eye on temperatures in the Hawke’s Bay as they’re close to reaching heatwave criteria,” Makgabutlane says. A heatwave is experienced when a place has five consecutive days where temperatures are at least 5°C warmer than its average maximum for that month. Napier is forecast to reach 28°C this afternoon and 27°C tomorrow (Tuesday).

A ridge of high pressure on Thursday flips the switch on the weather, bringing a general easing trend to the latter half of the week for most. Things will also be a touch cooler as a southwesterly wind change freshens what has been a muggy atmosphere.

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