Wet Weather From The West

MetService advises that the ridge of high pressure over most of Aotearoa / New Zealand is beginning to move away east, allowing a moist northeasterly flow to kick in this weekend, and drive away some of those colder temperatures. A front embedded in this flow is set to traverse the country over the weekend, bringing rain and strong winds to many. Heavy Rain Watches have been issued for Fiordland and parts of Westland, associated with this front, and also for Buller, but with a different trigger.

MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker explains, “A trough lingering over the Buller area on Thursday and Friday is expected to bring heavy rain, and rainfall accumulations may approach warning criteria between midnight on Thursday, and 4pm on Friday.”

The Heavy Rain Watches for Fiordland, and Westland about and south of Harihari, are related to the oncoming front this weekend. The majority of the rain associated with these Watches is expected on Saturday, as the front becomes slow moving over the region.

On Sunday, the front continues up the West Coast, and its northern section is expected to wrap around and reach Northland and Auckland by evening, before continuing westwards across the North Island.

“There’s currently variation in timing between several of our models, but at this stage we’re expecting most people will see some rain or showers by Monday,” Bakker states. “However, eastern and southern parts of the country are unlikely to see those higher rainfall totals.”

Single-digit minimum temperatures will hang around a little longer, with Masterton in particular expecting a chilly 3°C on Friday, but as we reach the weekend the country will warm up. On Sunday, most of the North Island will see minimums in the teens, and in the South Island Wanaka and Queenstown will be the coolest main centres at 10°C overnight.

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