Wet and windy — it’ll be wild
There are 137 days between this holiday long weekend and the next, so make it a good one New Zealand. Unfortunately, the weather won’t be helping you — unless your perfect long weekend involves hunkering down indoors.
A wet and, for some, windy Queen’s Birthday long weekend continues today, especially in northern parts of both main islands. A heavy rain warning is in place in the Nelson ranges, west of Motueka, through to 6pm tonight, with 90mm to 120mm expected, according to MetService.
The nearby Richmond Ranges, including Rai Valley, and Buller and Westland, from O¯ tira north, are under a heavy rain watch until this afternoon.
Heavy rain watches are also in place for the 24 hours from 6am today in Northland, and Coromandel Peninsula from 6pm tonight until 11pm tomorrow. A strong wind watch has been issued for Northland from 6pm tonight until 3am tomorrow and for Auckland over the 12 hours from 9pm tonight.
“It’s not great,” MetService forecaster Aidan Pyselman said of the weather expected over the remaining two days of the long weekend.
“There’s a deepening low [today] affecting northern parts. It’s bringing a lot of rain, with some very heavy falls. And it hangs around Monday, potentially affecting people over large parts of the North Island heading home from the long weekend.”
It’ll be wet the rest of the long weekend in Auckland, with heavy rain possible tomorrow, and northeasterlies, which may be strong in exposed places, expected.
Wellington will be mostly dry, but cloudy and with strong northerlies this morning, while occasional rain is expected in Christchurch today and tomorrow.
However, the “bits and pieces” of rain forecast in Canterbury would be nothing close to the deluge that drenched parts of the region last week, Pyselman said.
“There’s not anything significant expected there.”
By Tuesday, a ridge of high pressure, which usually means settled weather, will be over the South Island, but it’ll still be cloudy or showery at times.
In the North Island the low will still be affecting the top half of the island on Tuesday, although the weather will be starting to improve during the day, Pyselman said.
In Auckland, rain is expected to clear later in the day about the city, but continue further north. Hamilton will be mostly cloudy after an occasionally wet Monday, while periods of rain are expected to continue in Tauranga on Tuesday.
The lack of clear skies does bring one advantage — warmer than usual temperatures, Pyselman said.
“Temperature-wise it’s fairly mild. Today and tomorrow temperatures will be above average for the time of year.”
Highs hover around 18C in the upper North Island and mid-teens further south, he said.
But it’ll be cooler in parts of the South Island, with 14C in Christchurch today and 11C tomorrow.