Mixed bag for New Zealand – a fairly settled week ends abruptly over the weekend

The past week saw some contrasting conditions, from a settled start, to a deep low-pressure system with associated fronts bringing rain to most of the country over the weekend. As we look to the week ahead, the low-pressure system will weaken while tracking towards the North Island. An associated front will bring more rain to the north and central areas, while the far south remains dry until another front is forecast to cross the area from the west on Tuesday.

The start of the week saw a ridge of high pressure bring settled conditions to most of the country. The capital experienced better weather than Auckland, as it was sheltered from the southwest flow which brought unsettled conditions to NZ’s largest city. As the week ended, so did the settled spell of weather as a low-pressure system from the Tasman Sea deepened and made its way towards New Zealand. The system then slowed down and an associated rain band extended over most of the country for the weekend. This brought periods of rain to the North Island and northern areas of the South Island, and the Nelson Ranges were flagged for warning amounts of rain well in advance.

“Since the early hours of yesterday morning places in the Nelson Ranges have seen over 200mm of rain, with heavy rain warnings in place there until 3:00am Monday morning” explained Meteorologist Kyle Lee. Next in line is the Bay of Plenty with a heavy rain warning in force for today through to Monday 6:00pm. While northern and central New Zealand have seen its fair share of wet weather, the far south has remained dry through the weekend with the sun providing a lovely day ahead for Southland and Fiordland especially.

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