An unsettled end to the week

MetService News Release
Monday 1 August 2016

An unsettled end to the week

Showers or rain are expected for many places today, as a low and several fronts move across the country, though those in the east will be drier. Tomorrow will bring a brief reprieve, with showers clearing away, and some sunshine for most people. However, cloud will increase later in the day ahead of the next weather system approaching from the Tasman.

A low pressure system is developing over the Tasman Sea, and is expected to approach New Zealand overnight Tuesday. The fronts associated with this low will bring periods of rain to many parts of the country on Wednesday, and throughout the rest of the week.

“The low pressure system will cause an east to southeast flow to develop over the South Island on Wednesday, and further north later in the week. This will bring rain to many places, but particularly eastern areas,” said MetService Meteorologist Claire Flynn. “With cold air coming from the southeast, snow levels will gradually be lowering during Wednesday, and the cold air will hang around for the rest of the week. Currently, there is some uncertainty with regards to which areas will get the heaviest snow, and how low exactly the snow will go. At this stage, it looks as though Otago and inland areas of Canterbury and Southland are looking to get the lowest snow, but this will become clearer as we get closer to the event. This period of snow will be great news for ski fields, but may be disruptive to travel. People are advised to keep up to date with our forecasts and any severe weather information on metservice.com, as this could be a significant snow event.”

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