Monday blues

MetService News Release
Monday, 17 Nov 2014

Monday blues

The weather isn't going to help out much if you are suffering from a bout of post weekend sunshine blues. It is a wet and windy start to the week for the North Island as an area of low pressure barrels across the country from the Tasman Sea. This low is accompanied by a period of strong north-westerly winds, with severe gales possible over the northern half of the North Island today and continuing into Gisborne and Hawke's Bay tomorrow. A severe weather watch has been issued for parts of the North Island, including Auckland. For the latest information head to metservice. com

While the wettest and windiest weather will be across the North Island,some will reach the top of the North Island. Meanwhile, another feature is set to bring another area of rain onto the South Island, heaviest for Fiordland and southern Westland into Tuesday. "With plenty of rain and showers about today, we could all just about see some wet weather for the start of the week," MetService meteorologist John Law said. "The best places to be today are the McKenzie Country and South Canterbury, which are some of the few spots in New Zealand likely to have a dry day."

"For those north of Taupo, the weather mostly settles down for the remainder of the week, with westerly winds delivering some decent fine spells, as well as some intermittent pulses of showers," added Law.

Monday's low is set to clear away to the east of Aotearoa tonight, leaving the country in another showery south-westerly feed of air for much of the week. As well as showers, thunderstorms are likely to reappear in the forecasts frequently. "A pool of cold air slinks across the South Island during the middle of the week and is likely to help thunderstorms build and develop. It will be one of those weeks to keep an eye on the rainfall radar, " Law advised.

The annual Meteorological Society of New Zealand conference starts on Wednesday this week in Wellington. Meteorologists from across the country will gather to discuss and share the latest thinking and science in Kiwi meteorology. The team from MetService will be giving talks ranging from snow forecasting to broadcast meteorology. For more information about the meteorological society head to www.metsoc.org.nz.

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