A humid start to March

MetService News Release
Monday, 02 Mar 2015

A humid start to March

A humid northeasterly flow prevails over the North Island over the next few days as a low just to the north of the country moves away to the east on Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, a front moving up the South Island will bring a period of rain to the west and scattered falls further east after a very warm day today.

"The start of March, and the Meteorological Autumn, is a warm one for the North Island due to a northeasterly flow bringing humid air down from the tropics," said MetService meteorologist Emma Blades. "Day and night time temperatures will remain fairly high, making for some warm evenings."

The moist air flow may bring a few showers to Northland, Auckland,Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne on Wednesday, but the remainder of the North Island should stay dry. "Visitors dressing up for the Auckland Cup on Wednesday may need to pack an umbrella," said Ms Blades, "but I recommend checking the MetService forecast closer to the time as there is some uncertainty this far out on the position of the low bringing the showers".

There is good news though for cricket fans attending the Cricket World Cup at Napier on Wednesday, where it is predicted to be a warm and dry afternoon. You can receive dedicated stadium forecasts for the Cricket World Cup games at http://www.metservice.com/cricket.html

In the South Island, a front moves northwards today and tomorrow bringing rain to the West, with some heavy falls, and scattered rain to Southland, Otago and Canterbury. Nelson and Marlborough may also receive a sprinkling of showers towards Wednesday. Ahead of the front, temperatures are likely to climb to the high 20's in the east today, and could break 30 in a few spots. Temperatures are expected to cool as the front passes through, with a significantly cooler day for Christchurch and Dunedin on Tuesday, perhaps dropping by as much as 10C with maximums around 20C.

Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and any watches/warnings atmetservice.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 on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com.

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