Covering period of Thu 13 - Mon 17 March 2025

After a cold, southerly intrusion midweek, MetService is forecasting a return to widespread settled weather as high pressure moves in from the Tasman Sea. Warm temperatures driven by northwesterly winds are predicted in the south and east from Sunday as the next weather system moves in.

People with a clear view of the eastern horizon may catch a glimpse of a red moon rising this Friday evening thanks to the total lunar eclipse. A total lunar eclipse means the earth is in way of sunlight directly reaching the moon. Our atmosphere causes the incoming sunlight to bend around the globe with red light directed toward the moon.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris predicts, “Most areas look to be cloud free around the 7:45pm sunset on Friday but some cloud is forecast around East Cape and Northland. The maximum eclipse occurs just after moonrise here (around 8pm) – this means the moon would be at its reddest, but also dimmest, as it comes above the horizon; spotting it against the relatively bright sky could be challenging. After 8:30pm the redness will mostly be gone.”

The chilly southerly that moved up the country yesterday (Wednesday) saw Cantabrians getting a taste of what’s to come as we edge closer to winter with afternoon temperatures hovering around 13°C. However, at the moment, the cooler days are short lived as temperatures are back into the mid-20s by the time the weekend rolls around.

Generally, the weather will be mostly settled over the weekend thanks to a nearby area of high pressure. Some showers are forecast to linger around the western areas of the South Island. Festival goers will be happy to hear it’s looking like a decent weekend in Wellington for Homegrown – typical northerly breezes and some passing cloud with temperatures in the low 20s.

Next week is forecast to kick off with a burst of heavy rain in the southwest and blustery northwesterly winds across the southern half of the South Island as an active, potentially severe weather systems moves in. It’s looking like the system is due to weaken as it travels north, making the chances of much rain for those dry areas further north unlikely.

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