Wet, windy weather to mark the last week of winter

Tuesday, 28 August 2018

Widespread heavy rain and severe gales are forecast for Wednesday.

It's the last week of winter and it looks like the season isn't ready to give up yet - a storm is brewing and much of the country is likely to get whacked with strong northeasterlies and heavy rain.

MetService meteorologist Mark Bowe said: 'Broadly speaking we've got this low pressure system with a few fronts that's moving across the country [on Tuesday evening] and tomorrow and then a few lingering effects on Thursday and then on Friday … there's a few scattered showers … on Saturday, the next front is coming.'

The deep low building up over the Tasman Sea on Tuesday was expected to be the 'conductor' of the weather, despite remaining west of New Zealand.

The first of the rain would hit the upper South Island west of Motueka about 2am on Wednesday and last for about seven hours.

This is likely to be a familiar sight as the last week of winter packs a punch and ends with a drenching for much of the country.

Auckland, Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula faced heavy rain from about 4am on Wednesday, MetService severe weather watches issued on Tuesday warned. Downpours of up to 30mm per hour were expected.

From 6am Wednesday, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua faced a 40 hour heavy rain watch. Gisbourne and Tokomaru Bay were next as the storm moved - a 28-hour heavy rain watch kicked in at 6pm Wednesday.

Western Nelson, Buller, and northern Westland were also under a strong wind watch from 6am to 1pm on Wednesday, with northeast gales possibly becoming severe in exposed places.

Thunderstorms would also threaten much of the North Island and the northwestern South Island from Midnight Tuesday until noon Wednesday, with the worst areas facing up to 30mm of rain per hour during downpours.

MetService said the front would 'drag in warmer, moister rain-laden air from the north. This means that few New Zealanders escape at least a brief dose of rain.'

Bowe said there was 'quite a lot going on' and it was not a 'simple situation'.

Another front was expected to push up the South Island on Saturday.

There wasn't likely to be much respite from wet weather over the weekend.

Next week - the first week of spring - was too far off to make predictions about what the weather might bring, Bowe said.

LATER IN THE WEEK

The weather for the later part of the week was expected to remain unsettled as the low pressure system in the Tasman continued to send fronts toward New Zealand.

On Thursday in North Island, a few showers in the west were forecast to clear. Periods of rain in the east with heavy downpours were possible in Bay of Plenty and Gisborne.

In the South Island, a few showers were forecast in the west and about Marlborough. Elsewhere, it was likely to be fine with high cloud.

On Friday the North Island should expect a few showers developing in the west and occasional rain clearing in the east.

The South Island will become fine in the west, but it was expected to be cloudy with occasional rain or drizzle in the east.

The Chatham Islands were likely to get a few showers and northerlies developing later Wednesday with rain setting in on Friday as northerlies rose to gales.