Southwesterlies give way to a settled, but cold and frosty week

Northerlies dominated over much of New Zealand this past week, meaning that a lot of areas did not get very cold overnight. The west coast of the South Island received its usual dose of rain for the week, and a low-pressure system from the north produced rain over much of the North Island mid-week.

But the low to the north also brought humid air, which made for a very foggy end to the week for the North Island. Most notably Auckland got affected by long lasting fog events both Thursday and Friday mornings.

As the low-pressure system moved away to the east colder southwesterly winds have returned, bringing showers with the snow level lowering to 400 metres over southern New Zealand tonight.

“The cooler southwest winds are affecting places exposed to this wind direction, such as the west coasts of both islands, as well as the southern part of the South Island where a Heavy Snow Watch has been issued,” explained MetService Meteorologist Kyle Lee.

The MetService Heavy Snow Watch includes southern Fiordland, Southland and Otago south of Cromwell from later today into Monday, and you can find more details here http://bit.ly/SWWatch.

The southwest winds ease from Tuesday and give way to a high-pressure system from the Tasman Sea. The combination of the cooler airmass left over the country from the southwest winds and the settled weather means the overnight temperatures will plummet around mid-week.

“Much of the country is expected to be cold and frosty midweek. With clear skies, light winds and an already cold airmass in place, minimum temperatures will drop into the negatives for large parts of the country, especially Wednesday morning,” continued Lee.

The high-pressure system does give way later this week as another low-pressure system brings rain to much of New Zealand.

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