Wintry Weather Sets In

MetService News Release

25 June 2018
Wintry Weather Sets In

MetService is forecasting cold wintry showers, with snow to affect the country as we start the week. There is a Heavy Snow Watch in force from 6pm today.
“A strong southwest flow blankets the country dragging up cold air from off the ice,” Metservice Meteorologist Mark Bowe says, “The cooler temperatures and stronger winds will make wind chill a more significant factor this week.”

Today snow levels are expected to drop as low as 200m for the lower South Island. The strong and gusty southwest flow with several embedded troughs results in a showery regime with heavier thundery falls and hail expected for western and southern parts of the country. Further north snow levels are forecast to drop to 700m for the Central Plateau with heavy showers expected for western and central areas of the North Island.

On Tuesday, more cold wintry showers with possible thunderstorms in some coastal regions (see chart http://info.metraweather.com/e/60812/TSOutlook/fyrj1z/718544273), and snow levels lowering to 100m in the deep south of the country during the morning. Temperatures are set to plummet for all the main centres, with Auckland and Northland getting down to 4-6°C with strong gusting winds while the capital is expecting gale force southerlies and showers.

“Wet roads with minimum amounts of sunlight during these winter days and dropping temperatures makes icy roads a primary concern,” Bowe comments, ”Driving conditions will be hazardous on some of the higher mountain passes, so we advising people to take care.”

“A ridge of high pressure builds over the country from Wednesday, bringing clear skies and light winds which, with pre-existing snowfall on the ground, will bring down the overnight minimum temperatures for most parts of the country,” Bowe says.

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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