Spring-like spell bows out, weekend cold snap on way with snow and rain to come

Friday, 7 August 2020

As the flood waters recede in Northland the full extent of the damage is becoming clear.

A cold snap is expected to chill much of the country in the next day or two and it will be the start of a couple of wintry weeks after the spring-like spell of the past fortnight.

Fresh southerlies moved into Invercargill on Friday afternoon, and MetService expects the front responsible to sweep up the country overnight and into Saturday.

Snow could fall to 700 metres overnight Friday in Southland and in the Canterbury High Country on Saturday.

A cold snap is moving up the country overnight Friday, with strong southerlies expected in Saturday by lunchtime Saturday. (File photo)

On Friday evening, snow showers were forecast for the summit of the Lindis Pass, and 1-2cm could fall on the Crown Range Road and the Milford Road, MetService said. Before dawn Saturday 2-3cm of snow could settle on Porters Pass and early Saturday there could be 1-2cm on Lewis Pass.

* Stormy Friday with snow, heavy rain, thunderstorms, 120kmh gusts

The lower North Island, including Wellington, has enjoyed a fortnight of unseasonably calm and dry weather, but more traditional winter conditions have returned.

* Rain, cold winds, snow reminder winter is coming - some warming on horizon

Victoria Dairy CCTV captures debris - including a trampoline - being thrown around by a tornado in Papatoetoe, south Auckland.

Then on Tuesday a complex low is forecast to move onto the North Island from the Tasman Sea, moving slowly east during Wednesday. During those two days, northern parts of the North Island are expected to have periods of heavy rain and strengthening northerly winds.

Rain could be heavy in Northland, Coromandel Peninsula, Gisborne and northern Hawke’s Bay, MetService said. There was also a low confidence of severe gale northeasterlies in exposed areas of Northland, Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula on Tuesday.

Southerlies in the wake of the low could send temperatures plummeting, particularly in exposed areas, MetService said.

The third week of August was expected to be the wettest of the month for most, particularly in the west of both islands, as a low pressure in the Southern Ocean drove northwesterlies across the country.

It remained to be seen how much of the rain would reach dry parts of South Canterbury.

In Auckland, strong westerlies are forecast to turn southerly around midday on Saturday. Showers could be thundery and the temperature could drop to 6 degrees Celsius early Sunday.

Westerlies are forecast to turn southerly late morning in Hamilton and the temperature could drop to freezing early Sunday. The southerly is expected in Rotorua early Saturday and the temperature could also drop to zero by early Sunday.

In Wellington, the southerly is forecast to arrive before midnight Saturday, then become strong, keeping Saturday’s high down to just 10C.

Southwesterlies are expected to strengthen overnight Friday in Christchurch, which is also headed for just 10C on Saturday, with snow forecast to 800m on Banks Peninsula. As winds ease, a low of -2C is forecast for early Sunday. After Saturday, though, MetService doesn’t see much chance of rain in the city through next week.

Timaru is also expected to have a cold dry week ahead, getting down to -3C early Sunday, then dipping to lows below freezing or around 0C or just above it each day.

Most of the country had below average rainfall in July, with the area around Timaru particularly dry, Niwa data shows.

Northland was one of the few exceptions, with Kerikeri and Whangarei getting near-record amounts of around 450mm of rain during the month and Kaikohe almost 490mm.

All three towns also recorded their highest one-day rainfall totals for July. That was on July 17 when Kerikeri had 175mm, Kaikohe 262mm and Whangarei 251.

In contrast, Wellington Airport had its fourth-driest July, with just 34mm, and Akaroa had its second-driest July with 32mm.