Cold End To An Already Chilly August

A ridge of high pressure remains over the country, bringing settled conditions for the rest of the working week. However, a few showers will affect the upper North Island and the Far South, but for much of Aotearoa New Zealand it’s light winds, clear skies and cold nights. From this weekend MetService is however, forecasting a cold end to an already chilly month as winds tip to the southwest.

It will be another calm, cold and frosty start on Saturday morning for many with areas of low cloud and fog about.

MetService Meteorologist Amy Loots says, “If you’re out early for Saturday morning sports, or in Hawke’s Bay for the marathon, wrap up warm as it’ll be a chilly start, but the sun should come out by mid-morning and warm things up.”

A series of fronts are expected to move up the lower South Island on Saturday, bringing rain to Westland, Southland, and Otago. The fronts weaken as they push further north and onto the North Island on Sunday, however, is Saturday is the pick of the weekend.

“While there is minimal risk of severe weather associated with these fronts, there may be snow fall about some higher roads, especially on Sunday so make sure to stay up to date with the relevant forecasts,” Loots said.

Following the fronts, a cold showery southwest flow spreads over the country and persists into next week. With these cold temperatures, this month is shaping up to be the coldest August in more than a decade for Auckland. This comes off the back of three warmer than average winters in the city of sails, driven by La Niña sitting on top of an underlying warming climate. Note that a cooler spring is a characteristic response to a shift to El Niño here in Aotearoa New Zealand

© Scoop Media