Warming up a little this week
After last week's cold temperatures, this coming week looks to be dominated by warmer northwest winds. Daytime
temperatures in some eastern areas will push into the high teens and could even surpass 20 degrees in Napier and
Hastings. This is quite a change from the cold southerly flow that sent temperatures tumbling last week and brought snow
to some parts of New Zealand.
"Last week was the coldest of the year for many parts of the country," MetService Meteorologist Peter Little commented.
"Auckland had its coldest week of the year, with a mean temperature of just 8.4 degrees, 2.5 degrees below average for
this time of year. At Kelburn, in Wellington, we had a whole week where the temperature remained in single digits. The
Garden City also shivered last week, averaging just 4.6 degrees, which is 1.2 degrees below the July mean", Little
added.
The warmer northwesterly flow is also likely to bring severe weather to some parts of the country. A Severe Weather
Warning is already in place for parts of the South Island's West Coast, where rain is expected to become heavy for a
time tonight and tomorrow morning. "Further bursts of heavy rain are expected to affect the West Coast throughout this
week, as several frontal systems embedded in this northwesterly flow cross the country," said Little.
Fanning those warmer temperatures in the east will be strong to gale northwesterlies. These winds may reach severe gale
force in some eastern areas and about the Capital later this week, so people should keep up to date with the latest
MetService forecasts as Warnings and Watches may be issued.
Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and any watches/warnings at metservice.com or on mobile devices at
m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, @metservice on Twitter and at blog. metservice.com.
ends