MetService News Release
Monday, 04 Aug 2014
Winter's still around
June and July were very mild months, both experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures, thanks to the persistence of a
northwest flow across New Zealand. The start of August has continued in a similar vein, with temperatures in
Christchurch climbing to 22C on the 2nd, before the winds swung round to the south and the resulting temperatures in the
city struggled to reach 8C on the 3rd. Later this week another wintry outbreak is expected to make its way across
Aotearoa.
The east of the North Island is in the firing line for the wettest weather to start the week and MetService has issued a
Severe Weather Warning for heavy rainfall in Gisborne and the Hawke's Bay north of Napier. Frosty nights return for
regions from Waikato to the Central Plateau, as well as the South Island from Mondaynight. "Once again, the temperatures
are likely to see-saw across the country," MetService Meteorologist John Law explained."After a frosty Monday night
temperatures will recover slightly on Tuesday with a brief return to milder northwesterlies. However, we haven't seen
the last of winter, a brief front moves northwards over New Zealand late Tuesday and early Wednesday while a more
significant cold outbreak arrives towards the end of the week sending temperatures plummeting again, with more snow in
the south," Law said.
Ahead of this cold outbreak, gusty northwesterly winds are expected for Southland, Otago and Canterbury, possibly
reaching gale force. The MetService forecast team will continue to monitor the situation and may issue severe weather
warnings. Once the cold southerlies get established, they are set to bring fresh snowfall to the skifields.
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.