A sunny week in a wet winter

A sunny week in a wet winter

While this winter will be remembered as a wet one, the coming week bucks that trend. Many places have struggled to see more than a couple of consecutive dry days in the last few months, but New Zealanders can expect successive blue skies and frosty mornings for the next five days or so as the first blocking ridge since mid-May moves over the country.

Chart showing actual and forecast daily rainfall totals for Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch from May 1st to August 25th

“A blocking ridge is one that extends right through the atmosphere and stays put for several days”, explained meteorologist Tom Adams, “they generally bring consecutive days of fine weather. The long, hot start to 2013 was a much more extreme example. Sometimes murky cloud can get stuck underneath a ridge, especially in winter, and that’s what we’re seeing in Christchurch today. This will burn off this evening, leaving clear skies and a frosty night”.

Winds will be calm, the air will be cool and skies will be clear which means we can expect overnight frosts. Temperatures rise on Wednesday, as northerlies pick up, but until cloud builds at the end of the week it would still be a wise idea for gardeners to protect their spring seedlings, and for motorists to be wary of ice on the roads.

Official Severe Weather Watches and Warnings are reviewed and re-issued by MetService at least every twelve hours, and more often if necessary. To get the most up to date information on severe weather around the country, or any other forecasts, see metservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, at MetService New Zealand on Facebook, @metservice and @MetServiceWARN on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com

ENDS

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