Front brings cooler stretch
After a scorcher of a day, even east coast hotspots will drop to low 20s, says MetService
Temperatures around the country are expected to fall to the low twenties and high teens today after highs of up to 29C yesterday. MetService forecaster Heath Gullery said even the east coast of the North Island, which was the hotspot yesterday, would be cooler.
Gisborne and Napier were “looking more around the 22C range”.
The east coast had been forecast to top 30C yesterday but in the end didn’t quite make it with Napier and Hastings hitting 29C, while Gisborne reached a slightly cooler 26C.
MetService forecaster Cameron Coutts said it was a continuation of a good run of weather for the east.
“They have been up in the thirties already this month, so this is a normal summer’s day for them these days.”
But the weather was about to cool again, Gullery said.
“There’s a front coming across central and northern New Zealand ... a lot of cloud.”
The weather in the South Island would improve slightly after a wet day yesterday, with temperatures reaching the mid to high teens.
“We do have some rain easing in places like Canterbury and Marlborough, but still quite a lot of cloud in those areas.
“Down around Otago and Southland, we should see a bit of clearance in the cloud and more sunshine.”
A front would sweep across the country on Saturday, bringing rain to the west, Gullery said.
Temperatures would be “fairly warm” in eastern areas, but milder further west. “Then on Sunday we’ve got a southwest flow across New Zealand, so there will be showery conditions from Taranaki northwards and across the west and the south of the South Island.”
The middle and lower North Island was likely to have a “few cloudy periods and some long fine spells”.
“Certainly the pick of the weather for the weekend would have to be Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, especially during Sunday.”