Source: MetService
Covering period of Tuesday 28th – Friday 31st October
An unstable showery and snowy south to southwest flow dominates Aotearoa New Zealand today (Tuesday), with thunderstorms set to spark up in the afternoon in some parts. Most of the unsettled weather will have passed by the end of today, with a mix of showers and sunshine through the rest of the week before more settled conditions arrive this weekend.
As of 10am on Tuesday morning, there were 18,782 lightning strikes reported across the country, many happening early in the morning as an active front passed over the North Island. Meanwhile in the South Island, snow has been reported to nearly sea level as far north as Christchurch, with Mount Cook Airport reporting at least 20cm of snow. Crown Range saw between 20 and 30cm, while the Milford Road saw 10cm of snow. As the day goes on, the Desert Road will see up to 4cm of snow at the summit, through to 4pm. Similarly, Arthur’s and Lewis Passes will see between 6 and 10cm of snow above 600 metres until 4pm.
MetService meteorologist Dom Barry says, “It’s looking like a chilly night ahead for many South Island areas with everyone seeing single digits. Lows of minus one degrees Celsius for Timaru and Wānaka, and zero degrees Celsius for Christchurch will see the woolly blankets out again for sure!”
A ridge of high pressure begins to take hold over the North Island tomorrow, with westerlies developing. This brings showers to western and southern parts of both islands throughout the day, which creep into the east and north of the North Island in the afternoon, while clearing in the west. It remains mainly fine elsewhere.
Heading into Thursday, rain persists in the south and west of the South Island, while showers linger in the western North Island. But the sun is out in most other areas.
Barry continues, “A complex low-pressure system sits to the north of the country and brings some showers to Northland. The ridge goes into battle with this low and wins, keeping it north of the country, with only the edges of it impacting the Far North. This pattern continues into Friday, with many of the showers clearing up just in time for trick-or-treating on the spookiest night of the year.” These showers remain confined to the mountains throughout the evening.
As for the weekend – it’s a taste of summer. Mainly fine for most, with some afternoon showers inland. Temperatures hit the late teens and early twenties for everyone. Quite the contrast to the Octoberfest of weather we have just had!
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