Covering period of Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th June – Severe weather will affect much of the country in the coming days.
- Orange Heavy Rain Warnings have been issued for parts of Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough, the Buller District and Taranaki Maunga ending by Friday evening.
- Orange Strong Winds Warnings are in place for the Marlborough sounds and Wellington today (Thursday).
- Heavy Rain Watches also cover the Bay of Plenty, Taupō, Taihape, northern Whanganui, Dunedin and North Otago from Friday afternoon.
- A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for Northland for Friday morning for possible downpours.
- A Heavy Snow Watch is in place for Central Otago and Canterbury High Country south of the Rangitata River overnight from Friday into Saturday.
Today (Thursday) severe weather affects northern parts of the South Island.
- Rainfall rates as high as 25mm/h have been recorded in the Tasman District. The heavy rain is expected to persist into Friday.
- Wind gusts more than 120km/h have been recorded in Wellington.
- Heavy rain affected the west coast of the South Island earlier this morning, meanwhile Christchurch woke to a balmy 17.4°C due to the foehn effect, which also melted the Alexandra ice rink.
MetService Meteorologist Michael Pawley says, “The Nelson and Tasman Region has had significant rain recently, and we’re expecting a lot more to fall by Friday evening.” Before the end of Friday, northern parts of the South Island will likely see more than a month’s worth of rain. Expect the rivers to be running high and surface flooding present.
On Friday the heavy rain will affect most of the North Island. Before dawn, squally thunderstorms are expected to arrive in Northland. These bring the risk of heavy downpours and strong wind gusts. As the front moves across the island, the risk of thunderstorms spreads to other regions of the North Island and top of the South.
Overnight into Saturday the winds will shift southerly, directing heavy rain at Dunedin and Otago with the possibility of heavy snow above 600 meters inland. This could affect alpine roads.
Michael adds “Sunday looks like the better day to travel if you’re going away for the school holidays because the severe weather is expected to ease. If you’re going skiing, I’d recommend staying cozy and dry while the fresh snow falls.”
