MetService is forecasting a broad trough of low pressure to bring significant weather across Aotearoa this weekend, a stark shift from the settled weather of this working week.

Gusty northerly winds will start to pick up Friday night ahead of an approaching front from the Tasman Sea. A band of heavy rain with this front will then spread up the west of the South Island on Saturday.

MetService meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree advises, “Severe weather Warnings and Watches for the potential of severe gale northerly winds through Fiordland and Canterbury High Country, and for heavy rain for Fiordland, Westland and Buller, will likely be issued on Friday.”

For the North Island, humid and gusty northerlies on Saturday are a signal of the rain to come on Sunday. “It’s going to be warm and windy, and then it’s going to get wet. Warnings and Watches for severe gales and heavy rain across the North Island will likely be updated on Saturday. There is also a risk of thunderstorms for western areas from Taranaki to Auckland,” explains Crabtree.

Showery and thundery weather is expected to continue into Monday as the front clears the country, followed by a cool southwesterly flow.

© Scoop Media