Covering period of Tuesday 28 May – Saturday 1 June – MetService is forecasting strong winds, rain, and thunderstorms to affect parts of Aotearoa New Zealand as a couple of weather systems move across late Tuesday and Wednesday.
Things kick off late tonight (Tuesday) with bursts of strong southwesterlies and heavy showers, affecting western and northern areas of the North Island especially.
Conditions intensify across the country into Wednesday.
“At this stage, Wednesday looks set to be a windy day, especially for Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula and coastal Waikato where winds could reach severe gale force. Severe Weather Watches have been issued for this event. It’s worth keeping an eye on MetService.com as it develops for any updates or upgrades,” MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon advises.
In addition, thunderstorms are possible for the western and northern North Island at times from tonight and into tomorrow. These are expected to become gusty tomorrow afternoon, with winds of 110 km/h possible as the line of thunderstorms sweeps through.
Meanwhile in the South Island, the weather system brings rain, clearing for most places in the afternoon or evening. It also brings a brief period of snow to elevated parts of the island early Wednesday morning, and Road Snowfall Warnings are in place for the summits of the Milford Road, Crown Range Road and Lindis Pass. Farther north, the Desert Road in the North Island could see some light snow flurries during the second half of the day.
However, an end to the cold, wet, and windy conditions is on the horizon. A ridge of high pressure approaches on Thursday, tipping winds northwesterly and raising temperatures for the beginning of the long weekend. Most places in the South Island are forecast to reach temperatures 4 to 6 degrees Celsius above their late May average.
“It’s an ironic twist at the end of an especially cold autumn. Temperatures in the high teens or low twenties are forecast across the country on Friday and Saturday for the start of meteorological winter,” Wotherspoon comments.
