Cold, Wet and Wind Bearing Down on New Zealand This Weekend

After some mid-week sunshine, Aotearoa is set for a wet and windy weekend, followed up by some cold and snowfall in some parts of the inland South Island.

The drop in temperature will come after a northwesterly flow brings warmer conditions to the east of the country over the next few days.

MetService was forecasting Saturday to get increasingly wet as the day went on in the North Island as a weather system connected to a low pressure system in the Tasman Sea approached.

MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane advised: “Any outdoor activities would be best done in the morning.”.

The eastern, central, and lower North Island, in particular, was forecast to have a gusty weekend.

“Keep an eye out for any further watches or warnings in the coming days, in addition to the heavy rain watches currently in place,” Makgabutlane said.

Another pulse of rain, and snow early next week

After a brief break in the weather early Sunday morning, another pulse of rain was expected to sweep across the North Island, and predicted to extend to parts of the South Island as well.

Colder, showery southwesterlies were expected to come from Sunday afternoon into Monday, and bring the possibility of snowfall to inland areas of the South Island.

“This is an early heads up to farmers with young stock, as well as road users who might be traveling along some of those elevated roads and mountain passes,” said Makgabutlane.

“Into next week, however, there is a chance the snow could go down to lower levels for places like Southland and Otago.”

The east of the North North Island was set for a period of warmer-than-average temperatures from Thursday to Sunday ranging from 17 to 21°C, while the South Island plunged back down to cold temperatures by the end of the weekend.

“Although these temperatures are reminiscent of warmer seasons, the combination of cloud, rain, and wind will remind us that winter isn’t over just yet,” said Makgabutlane.