MetService advises that the large area of low pressure which brought turbulent weather to the country this week is set to finally move off to the east on Saturday, giving a brief reprieve for at least part of the long weekend.

MetService Meteorologist April Clark explains: “Winter has started with a bang; 33,000 lighting strikes have been detected by the lightning network we use in the last 48h up to 10.30am today. The low pressure which moved onto the country on Tuesday created the perfect conditions for thunderstorm formation as warm temperatures near the ground were overlaid with cold temperatures higher up in the atmosphere.”

Western and northern coasts of the country were affected by these thunderstorms from late Wednesday evening and will continue right into tomorrow (Friday). Hourly rainfall totals up to 45mm and gusts of 122km/h have been recorded in these storms, along with hail in some areas.

As low pressure starts to move east of the country during Friday winds turn southerly. This change in wind direction starts lowering temperatures and consequently the risk of thunderstorms. Dunedin will see a change from the balmy high of 22C observed on Tuesday to a more wintery forecast maximum of 11C Friday.

That volatility is set to remain for the first two weeks of June with a mix of warm Tasman Sea northerlies and brief Southern Ocean cold spells. According to our monthly outlook, low pressure fades away to the east during the latter half of June as high pressure shows face (albeit briefly) before a return to northerly rain makers by the end of the month.

“Though cooler than we’ve seen in the past week, Saturday is looking to be the pick of the bunch in terms of fine weather over the long weekend as a ridge of high pressure dominates. A lot of the country can expect another day of settled weather on Sunday but the next weather system approaching from the Tasman Sea looks to bring some rain in the west,” says Clark.

For more details on the weather ahead for your region head to metservice.com

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