A changeable week behind us, but another ahead

A series of fronts brought heavy rain and strong winds to parts of the country late this week. 24-hour rain totals approached 200mm at Arthur’s Pass on Saturday. More rain is on the way today and tomorrow, with an Orange Heavy Rain Warning in force for the Tararua Range, and Watches for Kapiti, Horowhenua and Wellington, along with Mount Taranaki and the ranges of Westland.

The strongest winds recorded were 104km/h at Cape Turnagain on Saturday morning, with gusts approaching 150km at this exposed coastal station. Metservice meteorologist Andrew James explains, “Large scale winds are driven by thermal contrast between the equator and poles. In spring, the subtropics warm up faster than the Antarctic so the thermal contrast is largest. Therefore, spring is the windiest time of year”

“Spring weather is typically changeable with disturbed westerly flows. In the last week we’ve gone from wet to dry to windy and then back to wet again, which is not unusual for this time of year,” James continued.

The changeable spring pattern continues in the coming week, though there are signals of a more settled period from next weekend. There are currently Warnings and Watches in force, so stay up to date with the latest forecasts at MetService.com.

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