MetService is forecasting mainly dry weather for the weekend due to high pressure, keeping a low pressure system to the
northeast at bay.
A front works its way up the South Island tomorrow (Friday), bringing a period of rain to the west and south as
northwesterlies change southwesterly. Heavy Rain Watches are in place for Fiordland and the southern ranges of Westland
tomorrow morning, as well as a risk of thunderstorms.
Road Snowfall Warnings are in place for some southern mountain passes, where 1cm or less of snow may settle above 900
metres. Queenstown Lakes District ski fields can expect a brief period of morning snow in preparation for the upcoming
snow season.
The front weakens away towards evening after it brings a few showers to Canterbury and Buller, letting high pressure
take charge this weekend.
It’s looking mainly fine and dry for the North Island apart from some morning and evening cloud, but there are a few
exceptions. Coastal areas from Bay of Plenty around Northland to Taranaki could see some morning drizzle, and western
regions further south down to the Kāpiti Coast may see one or two showers throughout the day.
A low pressure system approaches from the northeast going into the weekend, however it is expected to remain away from
the country. This means that most people are in for a fine weekend. However, southeasterly winds bring showers to
eastern parts of the North Island excluding Auckland. The southeasterlies are likely to become strong in exposed places
on Sunday with coastal gales for Northland, eastern Coromandel, western Bay of Plenty, and northern Gisborne, though
most populated areas in these regions are sheltered from this wind direction.
“Dry weather is forecast for our three home games in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition to keep the winning run
going, with some high cloud over the upper North Island,” comments MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan. “Skies are
looking good for the Wellington Phoenix game as well.”
Late on Sunday night, another weaker front reaches the deep south, bringing rain there overnight, then cloudy and
showery conditions for eastern areas on Monday.
For our marine areas, long period southwesterly swell with a significant wave height of 3 metres is affecting the west
coasts of both islands today, gradually easing. However, very long period southwesterly swell with a significant wave
height of 3-4 metres is expected to develop along coastal Westland and Fiordland tomorrow. Wave energy is related to
swell period, so long period swell can make for hazardous coastal conditions.