Weather to force Mother's Day celebrations indoors

Saturday, 11 May 2019

You may have to dig out a pack of cards and dust off the board games for Mother's Day as the weather forecast looks dire for the entire country. 

A complex low-pressure system in the Tasman Sea will move over the entire country on Sunday, and into Monday. 

The system will bring rain to most parts of the country. The rain will start in the morning in the south and west of the South Island, and then by the afternoon, it will be moving over the North Island from Taranaki upwards. 

The system will continue to move over the country and bring rain to the eastern parts in the evening, MetService meteorologist Andrew James said. 

'There are quite a number of watches that have been issued – the main concern is the strength of the wind. 

'There is going to be some quite strong northerlies with this system, especially for the northern parts of the North Island – from Palmerston North northwards there is a strong wind watch enforced. And then there is a heavy rain watch for the west coast of the South Island as well as Nelson, northern Marlborough, and Mount Taranaki,' he said.

A heavy rain watch has been issued for Fiordland where heavy rain is expected from 9am until 9pm on Sunday.

Those in Buller and Westland can expect rain from 12pm, northern Marlborough and Nelson from 1pm, and those near Mount Taranaki should consider a lazy afternoon with heavy rain predicted from about 3pm onwards. 

A strong wind watch is in place for Gisborne, Auckland, Waikato, Waitomo, Taumarunui and Taranaki, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Taupō, Taihape, Whanganui, Hawkes Bay, and Northland.