Weather comes to the north and south anniversary party
The sweetest days of summer are to set spoil the more than a third of Kiwis enjoying a long weekend from today.
Auckland, Northland and Nelson mark their anniversary days on Monday, and sunshine is on the way for all.
The City of Sails starts the long weekend with a mostly fine day, a high of 24C and favourable conditions for the two Prada Cup semifinal races scheduled for late afternoon.
“The weather’s looking pretty nice,” MetService forecaster Aidan Pyselman said.
“That’s good for the spectators. And the south to southeast winds should be pretty favourable strength for sailing — around 10 knots.”
Tomorrow would also be fine, with a high of 25C, but light winds could be problematic for the two races planned, while fine weather and a high of 24C were expected on Monday.
Northland, also celebrating a long weekend as well as being a magnet for Aucklanders, may catch a few showers in the east today, but the rest of the weekend will be warm and fine, with similar highs to Auckland, Pyselman said.
Other popular long weekend escapes, Coromandel and Taupo¯, could also expect settled weather, although temperatures will hover closer to the 20C mark in Taupo¯ .
Nelson, whose residents are also celebrating their regional anniversary on Monday, will be sunny all long weekend, with temperatures around 20C.
Settled weather was also expected elsewhere, typical for the time of year, Pyselman said.
“Most of the country’s pretty good today. With a southerly flow some places, such as Wairarapa to Gisborne, may have a few showers. But most of the South Island’s looking pretty good.”
Christchurch, blasted by nor’wester fuelled temperatures in the high 30s this week, can expect mostly fine weather and temperatures around 20C.
It’ll be cool in the capital, where a few showers are expected in the morning before fine spells help lift the temperature to 16C today.
Tomorrow’s looking better for long-suffering Wellingtonians, with 20C forecast. “It’s just a good, settled spell under the influence of a ridge of high pressure.”