More Severe Weather Imminent

MetService News Release

More Severe Weather Imminent

Sunday 8 May 2016

Heavy downpours in the Wellington and Kapiti regions and also Palmerston North caused havocon Thursday, with reports of flooding for many parts of the region. Luckily, the rain was fairly short-lived, allowing the flooding to subside, and leading into a sunny weekend for most people. However, further severe weather may be on its way this week, as series of fronts is set to move up the country.

“There was 68 mm of rainfall recorded in Tawa on Thursday, 71 mm in Upper Hutt, and 54 mm in Palmerston North,” said MetService Meteorologist Claire Flynn. “This comes after a very dry April for these regions. Each of these stations recorded more rainfall on Thursday alone than they did throughout the entire month of April.”

In the coming week, the weather is expected to become unsettled again as the week progresses, due to a series of fronts embedded in a strengthening northwest flow. Severe Weather Warnings are looking likely for heavy rain for the west of the South Island from Tuesday onwards, and a period of rain about the central and lower North Island on Wednesday could be heavy in the ranges. In addition, northwest winds are expected to strengthen, and are likely to rise to severe gale for the South Island east of the Divide from Tuesday, and also the lower North Island.

“Winds may continue to rise to severe gale for the east of the South Island and the lower North Island at times from Tuesday, and for the rest of the week,” commented Flynn. “The possibility of heavy rain and severe gales has already been highlighted on our Severe Weather Outlook. Watches and Warnings are likely to be issued as we get closer to the time, so people are advised to stay up to date with the latest forecast information.”

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 severe weather around the country, or any other forecasts, see metservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, at MetService New Zealand on Facebook, @metservice and @MetServiceWARN on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com

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