A welcome respite from the rain and wind for central NZ this weekend

After a week of wild weather across central New Zealand courtesy of a slow-moving trough, which saw nearly 290mm of rain fall in inland Hawke’s Bay over the last two and a half days, people will be pleased to hear that a respite is in store this weekend as the offending trough moves east of the country.

The trough continues to bring showers or rain to the North Island and northern South Island today and tomorrow, with the heaviest falls being concentrated over Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne. A Heavy Rain Warning is in force for Hawke’s Bay, where a further 150 to 180mm of rain is expected to accumulate in the ranges north of Napier, and 70 to 100mm elsewhere, through until mid-afternoon Friday. Peak intensities of 10 to 15mm per hour are expected, especially about the ranges. There is also a Heavy Rain Watch for Gisborne south of Tokomaru Bay, and Strong Wind Watches for the possibility of severe southeast gales in Bay of Plenty, Taupo, Rotorua, Gisborne south of Tokomaru Bay, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, and Wellington south of Ngauranga Gorge. In addition to this, heavy southeast swells of 4m or more are forecast to affect coastal Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne today, tomorrow and again on Monday and Tuesday. Meanwhile, the South Island experiences mostly fine weather due to a ridge of high pressure.

“On Saturday the trough over central New Zealand moves east of the country, while the ridge persists over the South Island,” says MetService Meteorologist Ciaran Doolin. “Rain eases to occasional showers on the east coast of the North Island, while the rest of the country should see mostly fine weather. Temperatures will remain cool, however, as a southerly air flow continues to affect the North Island. That’s good news for rugby fans, as the weather is looking great for the All Blacks vs. Argentina in Nelson on Saturday evening!”

A front moves up the South Island on Sunday and onto the North Island on Monday, as another front moves up the South Island. The fronts clear the country overnight Monday, followed by a weak ridge on Tuesday bringing fine weather across the country.

Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and any watches/warnings at metservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, at MetService New Zealand on Facebook, @metservice and @MetServiceWARN on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com

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