More rain for some and dry for most

More rain for some and dry for most

A ridge over the North Island directs a northwesterly flow over the South Island today bringing rain to Fiordland. This situation continues over the weekend, and the start of next week sees a low approaching the west coast of the South Island.

Most of New Zealand will have a dry weekend, but there are a few exceptions. Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula and western Bay of Plenty can expect to get a few showers on Friday and possibly over the weekend. In addition, the west coast of the South Island will be very wet south of Hokitika, with the rain spreading north to Westport on Sunday. Rainfall in Fiordland is expected to be heavy over the weekend and a Warning has been issued highlighting the potential for significant accumulations, even by Fiordland standards. Southland may get a sprinkling as well, with strong northwest winds on Saturday. The beginning of next week sees a low over the Tasman Sea approach the lower South Island, bringing another bout of rain to the West Coast.

Farther afield in the tropics, Tropical Cyclone Victor currently to the south of Niue, is expected to slowly track west over the next few days to affect parts of Tonga. After that, Victor is expected to slide southwards, but its exact destination is yet unknown. "We continue to monitor a large number of different global weather models and are closely watching the movement of TC Victor to see how and if it will affect New Zealand," commented MetService Communications Meteorologist Lisa Murray.

"TC Victor is expected to evolve into a mid-latitude low pressure system as it turns south towards New Zealand, where its effects could be felt from the middle of next week," Murray went on to say.

MetService advises those in northern parts of New Zealand to keep an eye on metservice.com for information on how Cyclone Victor may affect their region. "MetService experts are monitoring the situation closely and continuously," assured Ms Murray. For the latest updates on TC Victor visit the Tropical Cyclone Activity page on metservice.com: http://metservice.com/warnings/tropical-cyclone-activity.

Official Severe Weather Watches and Warnings are reviewed and re-issued by MetService at least every twelve hours, and more often if necessary. To get the most up to date information on the severe weather around the country, or any other forecasts, see metservice.comor on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow the latest updates on MetService TV, at MetService New Zealand on Facebook, @metservice and @MetServiceWARN on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com

ENDS

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