An unsettled week gone but another cold week ahead

“Unsettled conditions dominated the weather over Aotearoa this past week”, comments MetService meteorologist Andy Best “but the week ahead is looking cold as we transition into a southwesterly weather pattern”.

A deep, low pressure system and associated fronts brought very strong winds over the upper North Island early in the week. Mokohinau Island reported gusts of 109km/h and Channel Island saw gusts to 133km/h around midnight Monday. On Tuesday, rain associated with the low affected the east of the North Island, with Hastings recording 61mm, and Haparapara in the northern Gisborne Ranges recording 95mm in 24hrs.

Conditions were generally less windy on Wednesday before Thursday brought a northwest airstream over much of New Zealand, and consequently warm conditions to many places. Much of the North Island enjoyed temperatures in the upper teens, with Whakatane reaching 22C and Napier 23C. Hanmer Springs also recorded 23C

Friday saw a cool change in southern places. For example, Christchurch only reached 10C and Timaru saw a maximum of just 9C. However, warm weather continued over the North Island, with Napier recording a high of 24C. Warmer temperatures were back on Saturday, and Hanmer Springs saw temperatures rise to 24C, Ashburton to 19C and Dunedin reached 18C.

Looking ahead, a couple of cold fronts move up the country tomorrow (Monday) with a cool southwest flow spreading over most places in the wake of the fronts. There are road snowfall warnings currently in effect for parts of the lower South Island. For details check the MetService Warning page http://bit.ly/AllWarnings .

Cooler than normal conditions are likely to continue through the week, with periods of rain in most places. Snow could fall as low as 600 meters in the far south on Tuesday. “Although the South Island is expected to be mainly fine on Wednesday, temperatures are expected to be around 5 degrees below average”, Andy Best said.

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