Low brought wet conditions to central New Zealand

A low-pressure system crossed central New Zealand overnight Saturday, which made for a particularly wet start to the weekend for the upper South Island. Nelson airport received 40mm of rain over the course of Saturday, with 9.2mm of that falling in a single hour. The low also brought small amounts of snow to higher alpine passes. Those to the north did get a dose of rain too, but Nelson, Marlborough and Buller were the most affected.

Metservice meteorologist Andrew James explains. "The low-pressure system formed in a wave on a front. This slows down the front's movement, and slow-moving systems like this spend more time over one place, which can lead to larger rain accumulations. The low centre crossed central New Zealand, so that is where the front was slowest and where we've seen the most rain"

This low and associated front was the latest in a series of features which affected New Zealand this week. "A situation like this is typical for early spring. Spring is the most changeable time of year for weather in Aotearoa; what we are seeing is not unusual for the middle of September," continued James

Looking forward, James said we should expect changeable conditions this week, but with an improving trend. "We've got a bumpy start to the week weather-wise and MetService has issued Severe Weather Watches and Warnings, so Kiwis should keep up to date with the latest forecasts. We're expecting heavy rain for the west coast of the South Island and there is a warning for that area, and there are Strong Wind Watches or Warnings for most of southern and central New Zealand. The good news is a ridge of high pressure towards the end of this week settles the weather."

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