Covering period of Thursday 24th - Sunday 27th February

As March looms, and the official start of Autumn, MetService is forecasting a mixed bag of weather for the last weekend of Summer.

MetService meteorologist Rob Kerr states: “The weekend starts with a broad ridge of high pressure over southern and central areas bringing largely settled conditions, while a showery southeast flow affects eastern and far northern parts of the North Island. A weakening cold front sweeps over the eastern half of the South Island on Saturday and then moves onto the southern half of the North Island on Sunday as another broad high pressure system builds over the South Island.”

“There won’t be much respite from the showers around Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay this weekend, until after the front later on Sunday,“ says Kerr. “It will be western parts which see the least rain. Westland, Buller and Nelson should be warm with plenty of sun on Saturday, and across central North Island from Bay of Plenty to Taranaki, then southwards to include Whanganui and Manawatu will also be fine and warm right through the weekend.”

The front will bring cooler temperatures and a period of rain to eastern half of the country from Saturday morning, starting in the south, and likely to affect the cricket test match against South Africa in Christchurch for a time Saturday afternoon. Showers will turn to rain for a time ahead of the front from Wairarapa to east Cape Sunday, including a brief spell in Wellington early Sunday morning, then clearing. Although this feature doesn’t make it as far north as Waikato on Sunday, there is a good chance of Sunday afternoon showers across the northern regions.
 

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