After a muggy and unsettled start to the week, the weather is beginning to settle. MetService is forecasting a return to more average November temperatures for the next few days, along with fine weather and lighter winds for most, as a narrow ridge builds over much of Aotearoa / New Zealand today (Thursday).

The Hawke’s Bay region didn’t quite make heatwave status earlier this week. MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker explains: “It was a near thing, but ultimately they didn’t hit 5°C above average on that all-important fifth day.”

As the airmass responsible for the hot and muggy conditions moves away, maximum temperatures around the country are expected to return to the high teens or low twenties, close to average for November.

With the ridge over Aotearoa, skies will remain mostly clear. Good news for those wishing to view the ‘Blood Micromoon’ tomorrow evening (Friday), a near-total lunar eclipse predicted to begin around 8pm and peak just after 10pm.

Parts of Te Waipounamu / South Island won’t see such a fine weekend, however, as a front approaches from the southwest tomorrow evening. A Heavy Rain Watch has been issued for Fiordland and Westland south of Haast, between 2 am on Saturday and 2 am on Sunday. “Periods of heavy rain are expected during this time, and rainfall amounts may approach warning criteria,” Bakker cautions.

Another front moves in from the Tasman Sea later in the weekend, bringing rain or showers to central Aotearoa from Sunday afternoon.

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