Winter storm looming

Winter storm looming

Monday, 17 Jun 2013

The complex, slow moving low over the Tasman Sea that has been responsible for the recent heavy rain over much of New Zealand will continue to bring unsettled weather through most of the coming week.

MetService Media and Communications Meteorologist Daniel Corbett commented,"This active weather system will eventually pave the way for wintry and windy conditions later in the week, with the potential for significant snow in various places."

The main band of heavy persistent rain lying across parts of South Canterbury and Otago will gradually ease tonight. Further showers, some heavy and thundery, are likely in western areas into Tuesday.

On Wednesday, bitterly cold Antarctic air will begin to sweep up the country. This has the potential to bring significant snow to the south and east of the South Island, as well as central and southern parts of the North Island. Largest snowfalls at this stage seem likely about inland Canterbury and Marlborough, while snow may fall to near sea level from Southland to Kaikoura by Thursday.

This is a very dynamic weather situation, and details about where the snow will fall and how much may well change. It will be important to keep up to date with the latest watches and warnings.

Although our main website is currently unavailable due to data communication issues, the www.metservice.com URL is diverting to our backup site where all the latest forecasts and watches/warnings continue to be available. You can also follow our updates on @metservice on Twitter and at www.facebook.com/MetService.

ENDS

© Scoop Media