Rocket men (and women) on a Mission
Fans of Sir Elton John were scrambling to nab the best seats at Mission Estate Winery when he played Napier to a packed crowd last night.
Scores of fans arrived early in a bid to get the best vantage spots possible but any squabbles were goodnatured as they settled in to enjoy the show. John was set to wow the crowd with all the classics including Bennie
and the Jets, Rocket Man and Candle in the Wind.
And Auckland fans can expect a warm but breezy evening for the first of his three concerts in the city tonight.
The forecast is for cloudy skies, a northwesterly breeze, and temperatures in the low 20s at Mt Smart Stadium this evening, MetService said.
The Auckland leg of the superstar’s
New Zealand tour comes in the middle of the longest dry spell on record.
Today is expected to be Auckland’s 41st day in a row without rain.
Records have also been broken in other parts of the country, with Takaka and Blenheim yet to get more than 1mm of rain on any day this year.
So when might relief from the parched conditions come?
MetService meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree said there was a chance of isolated showers in Auckland on Tuesday — when John plays his second Auckland gig.
He plays the third on Thursday. But those showers, if they arrive, are unlikely to replenish Auckland’s parched soil or other parts of the North Island.
“People might notice the occasional spit of rain but it’s not expected to get any more than 1mm of accumulation anywhere in the region,” Crabtree said.
It is a completely different story in the South Island, where Cyclone Uesi is expected to arrive overnight.
Heavy rain warnings are in place for all the western areas of the South Island as the Category 3 storm approaches from the Tasman Sea this morning.
The cyclone is expected to sit off the coast of Fiordland, and will also bring strong northwesterly gales from the early hours of the morning.
The Westland District is forecast to get between 200 and 280mm of rain in the ranges and between 70 and 110mm on the coast.
Fiordland, which had severe flooding earlier in the month, could get 140 to 180mm of rain.
That could mean more problems for the region in the middle of the peak tourist season. On February 4, heavy rain led to landslips which cut off roads to Milford Sound. Walking tracks were also badly damaged in the tourist hotspot.