Hot air brings possible heatwave
A late summer bluster will be broken by a forecast heatwave set to descend on Wellington.
Kevin and Sandy McDowell sat outside their Titahi Bay boat shed yesterday, warm in Swanndri clothing and fleece as they waited for the sun.
‘‘You can feel the heat coming, but it’s not hot enough to get out the polka-dot bikini yet,’’ Sandy said.
The boat shed, which Kevin bought for $500 more than four decades ago, is the pair’s front porch and hub for activities that are best served with a heavy dose of sun: boating, snorkelling and beach walks.
And the sun will come. A mass of hot air and possible heatwave will descend on New Zealand as children start returning to school this week.
For Wellington, MetService has forecast a fiveday streak of temperatures 25 degrees Celsius and above starting yesterday, with the hottest, 27C, coming tomorrow.
Meteorologist Tui McInnes said the technical definition of a heatwave was a consecutive, five-day run of temperatures five degrees above the average, which Wellington may possibly achieve. ‘‘Everyone’s going to feel the warmth for sure.’’ Overnight maximum temperatures are forecast to sit at 17C to 18C this week.
‘‘It might feel a little less hot in central Wellington just because of the wind, but we are expecting the wind to die down after the first couple of days.’’
Hutt Valley will be hotter, with temperatures exceeding 30C tomorrow, and South Wairarapa will have temperatures in the low to mid-30s. Hastings and Napier are expected to be similarly warm, in the high-20s and low-30s.
The Ka¯piti Coast and Porirua will likely escape the heatwave, beginning the week a little cooler.