MetService News Release
Thursday, 31 Jul 2014
The weekend isn't pretty
Gales and heavy rain are likely to feature regularly in the forecast over the next few days, with a persistent northwest
flow continuing to bring wet weather to the west, and windy conditions in the east. MetService have issued updated
Severe Weather Warnings and Watches for large areas of the South Island while forecasts of blustery, wet weather are in
store for parts of the North Island as well.
Warnings of northwest gales and heavy rain extend right through into Saturdaymorning. "The weather pattern is very
reluctant to change," MetService Meteorologist John Law said "with New Zealand sandwiched between an intense high and
very low pressures. Temperatures this week have really climbed, with Napier reaching 20C on Wednesday, and Christchurch
and Timaru following suit today. "The northwest winds, responsible for the wet West Coast and the strong winds down the
spine of the South Island have helped lift the temperatures back up into the high teens for many parts of eastern New
Zealand" MetService Meteorologist John Law said.
The weekend sees a return to cooler temperatures as a southerly change races back up the country, bringing with it some
periods of heavier rain as it crosses New Zealand. "The weekend looks like one where we all see some rain, and a return
to snow about the hills in the South Island," Law said "However, heading into Sunday the main rain band will move
steadily northwards, leaving some brighter, drier weather in the far south".
Auckland can expect a cloudy weekend, with spells of light rain or drizzle.A period of heavier rain is expected on
Sunday as the front moves over the city and the winds swing round to the southwest.
The Capital is set for a windy weekend with gale force northerlies bringing spells of rain, heavy for a time Sunday
before easing to showers as the winds turn a cooler southerly.
In Christchurch, much of Saturday looks to be dry. However, rain should arrive in the evening, and linger into early
Sunday as wind turn cold southwest.
Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and any watches/warnings atmetservice.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.