Severe Weather To Start The Week

MetService is forecasting wet and windy weather across northern and central Aotearoa New Zealand this week as a deep low-pressure system and associated fronts move across the country. Several Watches and Warnings are currently in place today (Monday) for heavy rain and severe thunderstorms as an active front moves across the country.

Several Severe Thunderstorm Warnings had been issued early this morning ahead of the impacts of downpours and thunderstorms seen in Northland and Auckland which caused major disruptions to the Auckland morning commute.

MetService Meteorologist Ashlee Parkes elaborates, “Torrential rain was recorded across Northland overnight and into Auckland this morning. From midnight through to 10am this morning, Whangārei Airport reported 96.6mm of rainfall, with 64.4mm of that falling within an hour. On average Whangārei Airport receives 110mm of rainfall in March, so they had about half a month’s rainfall in 60 minutes”.

Parkes continues, “We currently have Heavy Rain Warnings for Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato and eastern Bay of Plenty through until later today, with Heavy Rain Watches covering a few other central North Island and northern South Island regions. In addition, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in place for Coromandel Peninsula and Waikato”.

While this morning’s downpours were intense, they were still a wee way from Auckland records. Leigh recorded 109.4mm/hr in May 2001 which broke the record held by Whenuapai in Feb 1966 (107mm/hr).

This front continues to move east across the country today, bringing scattered rain to northern and central New Zealand, before clearing to the east on Tuesday. However, the wet weather continues for many as the low-pressure system follows closely behind on Wednesday.

Parkes continues “Most regions will see rain during the week as the low-pressure system slowly moves across the country. There is a possibility for further heavy falls for some North Island regions on Wednesday. Southland is the only region that may not see any rain this week, with only a few showers forecast for Thursday”.

Residents of the North Island are advised to remain up to date with MetService forecasts during the first half of this week. Current models suggest the low-pressure system moves away to the east of the country during Thursday, bringing a mostly settled end to the week.

© Scoop Media