Source: MetService
Covering period of Thursday 16th – Monday 20th October
- Strong Wind Watches for Southland, Fiordland and Stewart Island from late Friday afternoon followed by Central Otago, Queenstown Lakes District and Canterbury High Country Friday evening
- Heavy Rain Watch for Fiordland from Friday evening
- Risk of severe gales and heavy rain well into next week.
Full-blown wet and windy weather is on the way! MetService has issued Strong Wind Watches and a Heavy Rain Watch for the South Island from tomorrow afternoon, as well as a risk of severe gales and heavy rain into next week. If you’re hoping for settled weather, your best bet is today (Thursday) or the first half of Friday, before the coin flips.
During the remainder of today (Thursday), expect fine spells with the odd shower across most of the country. However, a cold front progressing northeast will bring scattered showers and strong southwesterly winds for central and northeastern regions. Temperatures have largely returned to average but with clear skies overnight we could see frost for inland areas like Masterton and Twizel, with minimum overnight temperatures of 2°C and 1°C respectively. Offshore, heavy swells are forecast for the South Island, with 6-7 metres forecast for Foveaux and Puysegur coastal areas.
As we move into Friday, the day starts with mostly fine and settled conditions, with the odd spot of early morning fog in sheltered areas. For most of the North Island this sets up the story well, but for those in the southwestern half of the South Island, conditions will rapidly deteriorate, with strengthening northwesterly winds, developing showers, and evening rain. Strong Wind Watches have been issued for Southland, Fiordland and Stewart Island from late Friday afternoon, followed by Central Otago, Queenstown Lakes District and Canterbury High Country from Friday evening, where northwest winds may approach severe gales in exposed places, with gusts of 100km/h. A Heavy Rain Watch has also been issued for Fiordland from Friday evening. Some of these watches are likely to be upgraded to warnings.
Looking into the weekend, bands of rain will push northeast across the country, preceded by strong northwesterly winds.
Metservice meteorologist Alanna Burrows says, “With the T20 NZ vs England Cricket game in Christchurch scheduled for Saturday night, it might be worth preparing for all weathers and taking some warm clothes and a coat, as well as keeping an eye on the MetService website for updates to the forecast closer to the start time.”
Next week, the weather is looking wet, windy and wild with more strong northwesterly winds and heavy rain on the way.
Please keep up to date with the most current information from MetService at: www.metservice.com.
