A Wet And Windy Monday Leads Into A More Settled Week
Severe weather is affecting many parts of the country today (Monday), then MetService is forecasting an easing trend as the week goes on.
An active front with strong northeasterlies is crossing Aotearoa today, and MetService has Severe Weather Watches and Warnings in place for many regions across both islands.
Several stations in the northwestern ranges of the Tasman District have recorded 150mm of rain in the 18 hours leading up to 10am this morning, with an additional 90-110mm still expected until 6am tomorrow.
MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan elaborates, “Less rain is expected to fall over a shorter period compared to the extreme heavy rain event earlier this month, but there may be further impacts in already saturated areas.” Corrigan continues, “We encourage those in any impacted areas to heed the advice of local authorities.”
In the 6 hours leading up to 8am this morning, stations around Auckland recorded 40-45mm of rain, but 20mm of this fell in a burst of very heavy rain around 6am. The bulk of the rain is over for Auckland with the Severe Weather Warnings no longer in place, but heavy rain continues to affect the Bay of Plenty as the front moves southeast.
The front is also bringing blustery northeasterly winds, with Kaikōura and Waiouru recording gusts exceeding 90km/h this morning, and 80km/h in Hāwera. There is also the possibility of thunderstorms and hail for western and northern parts of both islands today and tomorrow morning.
After the front has moved across, a westerly flow brings showers into western regions. These showers become few and far between later on tomorrow, ushering in a drier rest of the working week. Otherwise it’s looking mainly fine, but a southwesterly change brings a few showers up the east coast tomorrow morning in the South Island, reaching the North Island in the afternoon. Temperatures are expected to stay around average for this time of year.