A sting in winter's tail

MetService News Release
Wednesday, 28 Aug 2013

A sting in winter's tail

After a very mild July and August a cold wintry blast pushing northwards across the country is set to remind us that winter has not yet relinquished its grasp on the country. Behind a front moving quickly across the South Island today and the North Island tomorrow, much colder temperatures and some snowfall are expected.

"The Canterbury High Country looks set to see the most snowfall over the next 24 hours or so and the MetService Severe Weather team have issued a Warning for snowfall above around 400 metres," commented MetService meteorologist John Law. "Although the heaviest snowfall is expected in inland parts of Canterbury, modest amounts of snow are forecast down to 200 or 300 metres in Canterbury and Marlborough."

For the North Island the return of cold air means snow levels low enough to cause possible disruption on the Desert Road and the Napier-Taupo Road during Thursday.

Although the coldest conditions will stay away from Northland and Auckland there will still be some unsettled weather to watch out for in those places. "Showers pushing across the north of the country Thursday evening are likely to be accompanied by squally southerly winds and even some rumbles of thunder," commented Law. "Daytime temperatures in Auckland on Thursday are still expected to reach the mid-teens, but taking into account those strengthening winds it will feel much colder than we have been used to in recent weeks."

The NZ Transport Agency's onthemove.govt.nz website provides customisable email alerts designed to inform you about notable road and driving conditions, and incidents and road works taking place on New Zealand's state highways. Motorists can also visit www.highwayinfo.govt.nz for up-to-date information from NZTA, or call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS for either the latest highway conditions or to report incidents or hazards on the state highways.

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, @metservice on Twitter and at blog. metservice.com.

ENDS

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