Ringing in New Year — what will weather be like?

Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and the Wairarapa were expected to be hit hard by a bout of bad weather overnight, which would last until around midday today.

“Basically we’ve got a low pressure system that’s hanging out east which will hit the south-eastern coastline of New Zealand,” he said.

Rain and southerly winds on the East Coast were expected to die down by tomorrow afternoon, making way for some rays of sunshine on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The forecast for the rest of the country tracking to the beginning of 2018 was mostly a mixture of sunny, fine days and cloud. Holiday makers down south in Wanaka and Queenstown weren’t as lucky, with a smattering of rain threatening to cast a shadow over New Year’s.

The weather was expected to pack in from New Year’s Day onwards in many popular holiday spots up north too, with a consistent bout of rain expected in Tauranga and Auckland from the 1st onwards.

McInnes said temperatures would be moderate, hovering around the late teens and early 20s in most regions.

Tens of thousands of people had already flooded into the Gisborne region yesterday for the country’s biggest New Year’s Eve festival Rhythm and Vines.

Speaking to the Herald yesterday evening, festival spokesman Chris Henry said the weather had held off as the first concert-goers pitched their tents. “There’s no rain at the moment.” We’ve got about 60 per cent of our campers in now, they’re already enjoying festivities. Nobody seems to have had their spirits dampened as of yet.” Henry encouraged any festival-goers who hadn’t left yet, to “be smart” with their packing. Wet weather gear was a must, he said, as was the usual sun-smart essentials.

Metservice had severe weather warnings out for Northern Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, cautioning heavy rain and strong winds. The warnings would be lifted later this afternoon.