High Pressure Brings Respite Following Cyclone Hale

The remnants of Cyclone Hale are moving away to the east of New Zealand today, and MetService is forecasting high pressure to bring settled conditions through the weekend.

Cyclone Hale brought heavy rain and strong winds to much of the country; Gisborne and the Coromandel were two of the most impacted regions where several stations recorded over 350mm of rain since the event began (totals from midday last Sunday to 6am Thursday).

379mm was recorded at a station along the Waikura river in northern Gisborne, while 374mm fell in a gauge along the Hikuwai River which caused it to rise to 13 metres late on Tuesday night. MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan says, “Plenty of rain also fell directly over the coastal settlements of Gisborne city and Tolaga Bay with 153mm and 135mm respectively, adding to the impacts that were felt from the rainfall further up in the hills that fed into the rivers.”

The Coromandel saw similar amounts of rain after the ground was already saturated from another heavy rain event last week. Cyclone Hale brought 378mm to a station at Pinnacles Hut, 184mm to Whangamatā, and 141.6mm to Whitianga. Many stations across Northland, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, and Marlborough also recorded more than 100mm of rain during this event.

An Orange Warning for heavy rain is in place for Waitomo and Waikato south of Hamilton until 1pm this (Thursday) afternoon. Corrigan confirms, “This is the last of the severe weather associated with Cyclone Hale before we can look forward to some more classical summery conditions with an oncoming area of high pressure.” 

Temperatures over the coming days are forecast to be typical for mid-January with a couple of exceptions. Cooler cloudy weather with southerlies and the odd shower is expected in eastern North Island regions with daytime highs around 20°C. Southland and Central Otago will have a hot and sunny Sunday with temperatures in the high twenties, and 30°C is currently forecast for Alexandra. 

Speaking of hot days, Hokitika has recorded three out of its five highest temperatures (records since 1963) in the last week thanks to sunny skies and a southeasterly Föhn wind blowing across the Southern Alps around the southern edge of Cyclone Hale. They reached 28.8°C yesterday afternoon, their third hottest temperature on record.

Our forecasters are continually monitoring the tropics, and there are hints that active weather systems could develop there next week. If any tropical weather systems do threaten to head towards the country, then MetService will have all the updates on our website and social media.

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