Rain, snow, thunder coming
Today and tomorrow are expected to be sunny, then winter is back with a vengeance
Today is the calm before the storm, as forecasters predict more rain and snow for the south and thunderstorms for the north. The weather presented a calmer front around much of the country yesterday, with no major onslaughts and only the occasional shower.
And MetService has picked today and tomorrow to be the sunniest days of the week — before another blast of wintry weather sets in.
A severe weather outlook has been issued for the south of the country, with snow expected as low as 200m in Southland, Otago and Canterbury and even lower in the far south for later in the week. This gives hard-hit regions of the South Island just days to prepare for another wintry onslaught.
Residents are still in clean-up mode, after a weekend of wild and wet weather that has left vast tracts of farmland submerged in murky floodwater, slips spilling on to roads and properties and hundreds forced out of their homes.
And while the forecast predicted largely fine weather over the next couple of days it said there would still be some showers sprinkled around the North Island, some of which could “blow up into thunderstorms” in the upper north this evening and tomorrow.
MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said some areas could see 10 to 20mm of rainfall hourly.
Adams said the break in the weather would end for South Islanders towards the end of the week.
“The spell breaks towards the end of the week, when another low crosses central New Zealand.
“This will bring more rain to the West Coast on Wednesday, before a southerly runs up the Canterbury coast on Thursday bringing another spell of rain.”
He said the rain would fall as “welcome snow” in the Canterbury club skifields, with lesser amounts further north and south.
Snow was also forecast for the higher parts of Dunedin city.
Adams said that while the amount of rain wasn’t expected to come near the normal warning threshold of 100mm, it was being treated a little differently given the impact it would have on already saturated regions.
“The already saturated ground in the Canterbury and Otago area means that our forecasters will be watching this very closely, as even smaller amounts could lead to further flooding.”
Adams said up to 40mm could fall overnight on Thursday.
MetService and regional council officials were discussing how to best to handle the unfolding situation.
Adams said the brief cold snap would give way to a weekend of fine, clear skies and icy-cold nights.