Hot, humid summer thunders on

Hot and humid has been the recipe for January 2018 so far, and this week is no different. Warm air from the tropics remains over New Zealand, boosting both temperatures and humidity.

Besides being hot, the most significant weather this week will come from thunderstorms, especially over the North Island. The South Island is brushed by a couple of cold fronts, but high pressure developing over the country keeps them confined to the south.

“Today parts of both Islands have a moderate risk of thunderstorms, but the risk is really heightened tomorrow for the North Island” said meteorologist Tom Adams. “On Tuesday there is a reasonable chance of isolated thunderstorms with downpours just about anywhere in from the coast and north of Palmerston North”.

Thunderstorm outlook for Tuesday 23rd January 2018

In addition to the thunderstorms, a heavy rain watch is also in effect for much of the upper North Island for later today through to Tuesday afternoon. “A heavy rain watch is different to a severe thunderstorm watch”, explained Adams. “A heavy rain watch is for the risk of widespread heavy rain, whereas a severe thunderstorm watch is for very localised storms that could bring intense downpours to a much smaller area.”

Without any large-scale weather features impinging on the country this pattern of warm days and afternoon heat showers is set to continue through to at least next weekend. With many centres currently well above average January temperatures, by the end of the month several new records could be set.

Official Severe Weather Watches and Warnings are reviewed and re-issued by MetService at least every twelve hours, and more often if necessary. To get the most up to date information on severe weather around the country, or any other forecasts, see metservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, at MetService New Zealand on Facebook, @metservice and @MetServiceWARN on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com

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