Cold in the South and More Rain for the North

MetService News Release

3 July 2017

Cold in the South and More Rain for the North

The week started off very wet in parts of the North Island, as an old low moving over the country delivered bands of heavy rain or showers to areas at either end of the island. 12mm of rain fell in one hour earlier this morning in Wellington, while the upper North Island can expect showers to linger throughout the day.

As the low finally gives up its hold over the country tonight, another swiftly takes its place in the south.

“A cold front starts to affect the lower South Island from tonight, with heavy showers possibly lowering snow levels to 100 metres in parts of Southland and Otago during tomorrow morning,” said MetService meteorologist April Clark.

“As the front moves north over the upper South Island tomorrow morning, it weakens and brings with it showers and snow down to 600 metres for a time,” explained Clark.

The North Island escapes the worst of the front, with cloudy periods and a few showers expected for most places tomorrow.

A narrow ridge of high pressure briefly pushes onto New Zealand on Wednesday, clearing showers for most and bringing fine skies to the south.

“This is good news for the ski fields but not so good for temperatures, which are expected to stay below or near zero for many inland areas through until Friday,” commented Clark.

“Areas along the eastern coastline may be spared the icier temperatures, though, with cloud and a few showers forecast to linger there,” she added.

Looking ahead, low pressure over the north Tasman Sea sinks south on Thursday, bringing periods of rain to the upper North Island through into the weekend, with scattered falls possibly spreading elsewhere from Friday onwards.

It’s too soon to be precise about the forecast for Saturday’s third All Blacks test match in Auckland, so be sure to keep an eye on MetService forecasts as we get closer to the big event!

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