Frosty nights ahead then wet and windy later in the week

Frosty nights ahead then wet and windy later in the week

It's looking like another week of changeable weather across New Zealand as cold southwesterly winds early in the week are replaced by blustery nor'westers towards the weekend.

The country currently sits under a strong, cold south-westerly conveyer belt of air, sandwiched between a broad area of high pressure over the Tasman Sea and a deep area of low pressure out to the east. Showers pushing into New Zealand's far south are likely to have a distinctly wintry feel. A number of Road Snowfall Warnings have been issued for the remainder of Monday, and more details on these be found here:

www.metservice.com/warnings/road-snowfall-warnings

As well as bringing the cold air back to Aotearoa, the southwesterly winds were also responsible for developing the large swells seen around Wellington's south coast this weekend. As the high pressure builds over the country for Tuesday, the swells and winds should continue to ease and, for many, Tuesday will be a fine day with plenty of blue sky and sunshine.

The clearing skies and lighter winds coupled with the cold air currently over the county are likely to ring alarm bells for many gardeners and farmers, with widespread frosty conditions set to return in the next few nights. "Temperatures are really set to drop once the sun sets," MetService Meteorologist John Law commented, "especially for spots such as the Central Plateau and the central spine of the South Island during Tuesday and Wednesday nights."

The second half of the week sees wet and windy weather returning to the country as the next weather system heads towards us from the Tasman Sea.

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