Following the wet and cold weather which dominated the landscape this week, MetService is forecasting a return to the
classic New Zealand meteorological trope; “wet in the west, dry in the east”.
After the extreme rain event that hit the Hawkes Bay this week, fine weather has fortunately returned and will persist
through the weekend. The past significant event saw large amounts of rain falling in locations throughout the region,
with flooding in Napier City.
MetService meteorologist Tui McInnes explains, “This event produced heavy rain that was very localised for some areas. A
weather station in Napier City recorded in excess of 240mm Monday through Wednesday, compared to our Napier Airport
station which recorded just over 150mm in the same period, despite only a 5km distance between them, illustrating just
how localised the downpours were.”
While the West Coast was temporarily renamed Aotearoa’s Sunshine Coast this week, the appearance of a front in the
coming days is set to keep the weekend wet. The effects of this do extend further to Southland where it might get a bit
windy too.
Further east in the South Island, a rebound to balmy temperatures is sure to delight many, following a run of cooler
days. “Warm air smothers the South Island and temperatures of 28°C are not out of the question for parts of Central
Otago,” McInnes said.
We’ve talked a lot about being under La Nina conditions recently, a scenario that tends to bring higher than normal
pressure to our southeast, with lows in the northern Tasman Sea, producing northeasterlies; a lot like the pattern we
saw last week. However, it doesn’t mean we’ll see that all the time, and every La Nina is different, as you can tell by
looking towards next week with a period of southwesterlies on the cards.
For now, if you’re fortunate to be in the fine weather, enjoy it and as McInnes reminds us, “don’t forget to slip, slop,
slap and be safe in the sun.”