Source: MetService
Covering period of Thursday 13th – Monday 17th November
– Strong Wind Watch for Wellington and Wairarapa today (Thursday)
– Sunny skies on Sunday
– Warm nights early next week
It’s a rainy end to the workweek, with rain and showers for most.
A low-pressure centre currently over central New Zealand moves south through the day today (Thursday) and situated to the southeast by the end of the day. As it travels, it spreads rain to most regions – expect a damp day overall, with some areas seeing heavy downpours and strong winds.
A Strong Wind Watch is in place for southern parts of the North Island today until 2pm. Northwest winds may approach warning criteria with gust speeds reaching 90 km/h in exposed places; affected areas include Wairarapa and Wellington.
Rain is not the only thing to be mindful of in the north as some parts of the North Island has a moderate chance for thunderstorms, localized downpours and possible hail. This includes places like Auckland, Northland, inland Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and central North Island.
Today might not be ideal for those in the South Island, especially farmers, however, there’s welcomed news ahead.
MetService Meteorologist Oscar Shiviti says, “Although it’s a rain-filled day for Canterbury and Christchurch today (Thursday), the weather improves on Friday – just in time for Canterbury Anniversary Day”.
By Friday morning, most of the South Island will see the rain clear, except for the western ranges. The North Island will also get a short break from the wet weather before another rain band moves in from the west by late morning, lasting until the evening. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms are possible in the east – especially in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, and eastern Bay of Plenty – with the chance of downpours and hail.
Simultaneously, a rain-bearing front moves up the South Island by Friday afternoon, affecting the North Island from Saturday morning.
If you’re running in the Queenstown Marathon on Saturday, be ready for a soggy course – a rainy start to the day is expected.
“Sunday is the pick of the weekend for all wanting to enjoy a sunny day outdoors as a ridge of high-pressure sweeps in from the Tasman Sea and thus sunnier skies with calm winds across the country,” adds Shiviti.
The sunshine continues into early next week, with warmer-than-usual temperatures expected both day and night – especially in the South Island and lower North Island.
As we edge closer to summer, MetService kicked off its Heat Alert trial on Wednesday 12 November.
Heat alerts are issued when unusually warm temperatures are expected for locations around the country. Heat alerts are not designed to capture your average hot summer day, but rather to highlight ‘top end’ heat situations.
The trial runs until the end of February 2026. Head to this page for more information, including handy tips on how stay safe in hot weather. https://metservice.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=63982abb40666393e6a63259d&id=99583d1819&e=852c839bf9
