7/10/19
MetService have observed a shift in the weather. The northwesterlies which brought severe weather last week and during
the weekend are gone. New Zealand is under a southwest wind flow bringing cooler air and clearer skies. This marks the
beginning of a brief period of calmer weather which will aid with some of the weekend clean-up.
MetService Meteorologist Andrew James explains, “Aotearoa has been under a strong northwest flow for the past week,
bringing warm, moist air along with heavy rain and thunderstorms with 230,000 lighting strikes recorded in 3 days over
New Zealand and coastal waters. The gale-force winds also brought dust from the Australian bushfires which has affected
visibility across the country. Kiwis will notice calmer weather; cooler temperatures, lower humidity and clearer skies
after the warmth and haze of recent weeks.”
A ridge of high pressure behind the front brings a couple of calm wind days to start the week, but our weather retains a
very spring-like flavour.
“On Wednesday a front affects the far south, and there’s a low-pressure centre near East Cape too. Those features bring
rain to those areas, but elsewhere is mainly fine. Thursday looks to be mainly sunny, with afternoon showers for inland
parts of both islands, while Friday sees a front move up the South Island bringing more rain to the West Coast,” James
continues.
This kind of changeable pattern is more spring-like than summery, but although the weather is changeable this week,
thankfully less severe weather is expected. “All indications are that impacts will be nothing like what was seen last
week,” says James.
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