Source: MetService
Covering period of Monday 1st – Thursday 4th December
- Widespread rain and possible thunderstorms for the North Island Tuesday and Wednesday
- Strong winds possible for upper North Island mid-week
- Humid air ahead of a low, followed by a cooler southerly change
- Improving weather for most areas on Thursday.
It may be the start of meteorological summer, but an active week is ahead. This week will bring a broad range of weather; heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds, and sunny spells to finish the week off. The North Island is in for a warm and humid start, while the south will see cooler temperatures throughout.
We start the week with comparatively settled conditions; some cloud and showers for western areas, with sunny spells elsewhere. The likes of Gisborne and Hastings are making the most of their sunny start to the summer season, with temperatures expected to top out at 29 and 31 degrees respectively today (Monday).
On Tuesday a low is expected to develop in the Tasman Sea and move toward the country through Tuesday evening. This will bring a period of unsettled weather for many regions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and into early Thursday, with heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms likely across the North Island.
MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden says, “That low deepens rapidly and pulls a warm moist sub-tropical airmass across the county during Tuesday afternoon and evening. It’ll bring widespread rain, strong southwesterly winds and the risk of thunderstorms for many parts of the North Island, including Northland, Auckland and Coromandel.”
While the North Island may be in for the brunt of it, the South Island gets its share of the weather too. A trough is expected to bring rain through Monday night and Tuesday, followed by cool southwesterlies. The upper parts of the South Island may also see a period of heavier rain on Wednesday associated with the low to the north.
The low gradually moves off to the southeast on Wednesday night, and conditions will ease behind it, before starting to clear through Thursday morning, with many places seeing drier weather and some sunshine return. However, strong to gale southwesterly winds will persist, particularly for Wellington, Wairarapa, Northland and Auckland; they will keep the temperatures capped as we round out the week.
Stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings at metservice.com, or on the MetService app.
