Christmas Day forecasts

Christmas Day forecasts

Initial forecasts for Christmas Day will appear on the MetService website tomorrow (Saturday), offering a first glimpse of the expected weather for festivities around the country. However, MetService meteorologists caution that there’s still some time yet before the finer points of the forecast will reveal themselves.

“Christmas Day temperatures are likely to be warm, with a boost from the very warm seas surrounding the country,” said MetService Meteorologist Lisa Murray.

Murray added, “There’s also a good signal that high pressure is set to sit near the north of the North Island. While this could bring a dry day for many cities and towns in the North Island and upper South Island, inland areas may see some afternoon heat showers.”

“With any forecast, the further away it is from the present, the more uncertainty it contains,” continued Murray.

Currently the West Coast of the South Island looks to be the place most likely to see a wetter Christmas Day, but it’s worth remembering that the 10 day forecast on metservice.com is produced by a computer model, and shows just one possible outcome from a complex scenario.

Five days out, the MetService forecasting team take this model, along with a range of other guidance, and use their expertise and local knowledge to fine-tune the forecast for New Zealand. The closer we get to Christmas Day, the more information the forecast team have to work with, and the more accurate MetService’s forecasts will become.

Throughout the Christmas holidays, as always, MetService meteorologists will be working 24/7 to keep you updated with the latest weather information – so before you head to the beach or bach, don’t forget to check the latest forecast on metservice.com

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