Covering period of Monday 4th – Friday 8th August
– Dry days to start the week, then rain spreading north from later Wednesday through Friday.
– Cold daytime temperatures and frosty nights, warming up on Thursday, but back to winter with a cold southerly change on Friday.
– Strong easterly winds for Northland, Auckland, and Coromandel.
It’s a dry start to the week for most, with typically wintry temperatures and frosty nights sticking around, and just a few showers dampening things down about northern and eastern parts of the North Island. A change is on the way, though, with rain making an appearance in Fiordland later on Wednesday, then spreading over the rest of the country during Thursday and Friday.
Temperatures are close to their August average for most places, with daytime highs in the low double digits, and frosts turning up overnight from Waikato southwards. Things start to warm up on Thursday, though, with warmer air dragged down from the north pushing overnight minima into the double digits for much of the North Island.
MetService meteorologist Silvia Martino notes, “Many places in the South Island are forecast to experience night-time temperatures up to four degrees warmer than their August average, even if that still means less than 10°C!”
Those warmer temperatures won’t last for long, though, with a cold southerly change sweeping up the country during Friday and dropping us solidly back into winter.
Fiordland leads the charge with rain arriving on Wednesday, joined by the rest of the South Island during Thursday, and the North Island on Friday. The cold air moving in on Friday brings the possibility of snow to higher parts of the South Island.
“If you’re planning to travel on higher roads in the South Island later in the week, keep an eye out for possible Road Snowfall Warnings, as well as any updates from NZTA Waka Kotahi,” advises Martino.
The upper North Island is feeling breezy, with gusts up to 75km/h already being recorded at exposed stations on the east coast of Northland and Auckland. While winds aren’t expected to reach warning levels, areas like Northland, Auckland, and Coromandel will see strong easterlies for the next couple of days, until things start to ease off during Wednesday.
Martino explains: “While forecast temperatures for the upper North Island are still hovering in the mid-teens, strong winds will make it feel considerably chillier, so you’ll want a windproof layer when heading out for a morning jog, afternoon dog walk, or evening commute home.”
