Covering period of Thursday 1st - Friday 2nd May

The weather has well and truly arrived and MetService is forecasting further wet weather and strong winds today (Thursday). Warnings and Watches have been updated, with the wettest weather expected for Canterbury and eastern Marlborough, and the strongest southerly winds in the lower North Island.

North Island

What’s happened so far:

• A Red Warning for Strong Winds has been issued for Wellington until 3am Friday for damaging winds. See here for more details

• Very strong southwesterly winds have arrived in Wellington, with exposed areas measuring over 160 km/h, while Wellington Airport has seen gusts of 118 km/h, and 117 km/h in Kelburn

• Combined wave heights (both swell and wind waves) in Wellington (Baring Head) have been between 5.5 and 6.5 metres this morning

• The ranges of Tairāwhiti Gisborne Region have had 100 to 180 mm since Wednesday morning

What it’s looking like going forward:

• Winds are expected to peak early this afternoon in the lower North Island and remain strong throughout today, with the strongest winds expected to have eased by Friday morning

• While already wet in the lower North Island, heavier falls are expected from late afternoon, in particular the eastern hills of Wellington, as well as southern parts of Wairarapa (south of Masterton). Rain turns to showers towards Friday evening, with most of the wet weather easing by the end of the day

• Wave heights of 7 metres are expected this afternoon and evening in the lower North Island, which may cause issues, especially around this evening’s high tide

• For Wellington, the combined effects of the strong winds, heavy rain, and large waves are what is most likely to cause problems today

South Island

What’s happened so far:

• Parts of Canterbury have recorded between 100 and 180 mm of rain since the start of Wednesday to midday Thursday – some parts have seen more than double a month’s worth of rain in that time

• Very strong winds have been measured near and over Banks Peninsula (113 km/h for Sugarloaf)

• Plenty of snow fell overnight in the Mackenzie District of Canterbury, with around 15 cm measured in Tekapo

What it’s looking like going forward:

• Further rain is expected for the eastern South Island where impacts have already been felt

• Breaks in the rain are expected from this evening in Canterbury south of Amberley. By the end of Friday most of the wet weather should have cleared out of Canterbury

• The heaviest snow has eased, with further light snowfalls expected for elevated parts of Canterbury and Marlborough today

• It’s a chilly day in the South Island, with single-digit and low double-digit daytime temperatures expected for some (Wanaka 8°C, Queenstown and Ashburton 9°C). Coastal areas will feel even cooler due to the brisk southwesterly winds

This an evolving situation and the latest updates can be found on metservice.com People are also encouraged to follow any advice from Civil Defence and other agencies.

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