Covering period of Thursday 18th - Thursday 25th December

• Yellow Heavy Rain Watches in place for Ranges of Westland, Headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers south of Arthur's Pass for Friday.
• Below-average temperatures for the weekend, with possible snow for high passes.
• A short but sweet settled spell for Sunday and Monday.
• A sneak peek to the Christmas Day forecast with exactly one week to go!

The holiday season is upon us! The weather is quite changeable at the moment, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the forecast before travelling to visit whanau, any action-packed road-trips or if you’re heading to watch the Blackcaps versus West Indies.

Bands of rain will move northwards across the country today and Friday. MetService has Yellow Heavy Rain Watches in place for the Ranges of Westland, and the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers south of Arthur's Pass.

A cool southwesterly flow follows in behind, with many temperatures well below average for this time of year. Dunedin is only forecast to reach 13 °C on Saturday, that’s 6 °C below average! These cold conditions bring a risk of snow up on the high alpine passes. Even though the snow is unlikely to settle at this time of year, driving conditions may be more like winter than summer. So please take caution on the roads or in your camper and pack warm clothes and plenty of supplies.

On Sunday, the southwesterly flow eases over New Zealand as a weak ridge of high pressure brings a settled spell. But it’s short and sweet, with bands of rain returning from Tuesday.

With exactly one week until Christmas, we know everyone is eager to know what the weather will be doing. Well, the Pōhutukawa blossom is still far from settled, but what we can see at this stage is that westerly winds are likely across the country. This may bring wetter conditions to the west and drier and brighter skies to the east with maximum temperatures looking to be around the mid-20s for many.

MetService meteorologist Alanna Burrows says, “The jigsaw for the Christmas Day weather forecast still has a few missing pieces at this stage but for those wishing for a Christmas BBQ on the beach, then I’d head to Hawkes Bay. It looks like the place to be.”

Keep up to date with the latest forecast at metservice.com

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