A “tropical moisture plume” is headed for New Zealand this weekend, bringing with it heavy rain and gale-force winds.
The relatively fine weather predicted for the remainder of the work week will be short-lived, with meteorologists predicting a front from the tropics to bring heavy rain to the South Island from Saturday and the top of the country on Sunday, Niwa said.
MetService already has heavy rain watches in place for the west coast of the South Island on Saturday but agreed the worst of the weather would hit the North Island on Sunday, meteorologist Andrew James said.
James said severe weather watches for the central North Island were likely to be added tomorrow, with the possibility some would be upgraded to warnings.
“Rain gets going along the South Island’s west coast during Saturday morning, then into the afternoon the system moves on to the North Island,” he said.
“Wherever you are, Saturday’s best weather is going to be early in the day.”
The front is expected to lie just to the west of the country by midnight Saturday, bringing rain and strong to gale-force winds to exposed places.
On Sunday, the storm is expected to hit from Northland down to North Taranaki, the central high country and the Bay of Plenty - bringing with it heavy rain and severe northeasterly gales.
In the South Island, Nelson/Tasman and northern Marlborough are also expected to be in the firing line on Sunday.
According to MetService, the last of the foul weather could hit Gisborne and northern Hawke’s Bay on Monday.
Both Niwa and MetService expect the latest storm to be short-lived because of a ridge of high pressure expected to hit the country early next week.
The latest deluge will be unwelcome news for North Islanders who have had more than a year’s worth of rain in the first six months of 2023.
“Those living in Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay have dealt with a constant barrage of sub-tropical lows, atmospheric rivers, and ex-tropical cyclones, which caused copious amounts of rainfall. It has been quite relentless,” Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said when he announced the record-breaking rainfall amounts last month.
Kaikohe, Whangārei, Warkworth, Leigh, Whangaparāoa, Albany/North Shore, Māngere, Tauranga, Gisborne, Tūtira and Napier all recorded more rain in the first six months of the year than they would normally get in a year.
Niwa said the lingering influence of La Niña contributed to an air pressure pattern that brought more sub-tropical, northeasterly winds, atmospheric rivers, and increased the risk for ex-tropical cyclones.
