Further unsettled weather to come

The week just gone started off reasonably benign, with high pressure over the country keeping the weather settled. However, most places saw a change at the end of the week with a front coming from the south bringing welcome rain to many parts. In the Wellington region, that rain fell hard and fast on Friday morning, causing flooding in some parts.

“Wainuiomata saw 93.2 mm of rain fall on Friday, with 78.6 mm of that in just four hours in the morning,” said MetService Meteorologist Claire Flynn. “By comparison, the same weather station only recorded 60 mm of rain throughout all of January, and 57 mm in February.”

Some other notable totals were 53.4 mm of rainfall in Lower Hutt on Friday, with 41.4 mm of that in just four hours, and 46.2 mm in Kelburn, with 17.2 mm in one hour.

As we head into the new week, patchy rain and drizzle in eastern areas will be clearing up, but rain will be setting in for the western South Island instead. Further rain is likely for parts of the country throughout the week, but the focus this time remains on the South Island. Meanwhile, eastern areas are expecting warm temperatures mid-week, with Christchurch, Ashburton and Napier forecast to reach 29C on Wednesday.

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