Summer feel hot on heels of snow
It’s shaping up as a foretaste of summer, with days of scorching temperatures as high as 26C in store for many parts of New Zealand in the week ahead.
After a tumultuous week where we reached for our thick coats and turned heaters up as snow coated the deep south and strong, icy winds and squally showers lashed the country, eastern and northern regions of both islands will be bathed in sunshine for much of next week.
Both Christchurch and Napier will see the mercury rise to a balmy 24C tomorrow.
The working week will kick off on an even hotter note if you’re in Kaikoura, where temperatures are tipped to reach 26C, or Gisborne, which will welcome a sizzling, sunny 25C as a pool of hot air from Australia cloaks the country.
Even Dunedin, this week under a thick layer of snow, will see gorgeous 23C day on Monday.
Niwa Weather said the hot air mass would cause temperatures to hit 25C or higher from this weekend and into early next week as it dominated the skies above.
Many eastern and northern regions are set to enjoy a string of four days where daytime highs sit between 22 and 24C.
While Auckland is not expected to top 20C, the city is set to enjoy six straight days of tepid temperatures reaching highs of 19C and 18C.
MetService says spring westerlies would return to the south for the weekend spelling fine weather for eastern regions but wet weather for the west. Although it wasn’t predicted to get as stormy as last weekend, the forecaster said exposed places should prepare for gale gusts.