Thunderstorms to chase away the sun
Heavy rain forecast to hit today and last through weekend
Aucklanders bathed in warm sunshine yesterday but the clear skies are set to prove fleeting as heavy rain and thunderstorms swamp the city again.
Auckland and Northland can expect the downpours to hit today and continue on for the next four days, before easing around Tuesday, forecaster WeatherWatch says.
“November has seen hundreds of thunderstorms across New Zealand and the start of summer on the meteorological calender is no different,” it said.
MetService has issued a heavy rain warning for Northland beginning from 1pm and for Auckland beginning from 9pm tonight.
After a sunny 23C yesterday, Auckland is tipped to hit a high of 21C today, with strong winds strengthening to possible gale forces with gusts up to 100km/h with the bleak weather to last into the weekend.
Whanga¯ rei is also expecting a high of 21C with wet and windy conditions.
MetService said the wet weather was also likely to hit much of the rest of the country with heavy rain warnings also likely to be issued for other areas of the North Island as well as the top of the South Island.
It’s forecast for Hamilton to reach 21C with a few showers, while Tauranga is expecting 20C and heavy evening falls and Wellington is tipped to reach 22C with morning drizzle and afternoon sunshine.
Drizzling rain is also forecast to hit the South Island today with Christchurch and Dunedin expecting a high of 17C, while Invercargill is tipped to reach 21C and Queenstown 22C.
WeatherWatch said the rainy conditions were normal for the start of summer.
“December is set to start with tropical northerlies bringing moisture down over New Zealand with extra tropical heat,” the forecaster said.
“When [this is] combined with our local daytime heating inland, it’s the perfect recipe for big cloud buildups, downpours and thunderstorms in the afternoon or evenings.”