It was a wet weekend for the West Coast but MetService is forecasting the start of the new week to run drier.

Over the weekend, Westport had its wettest November day since records began there in 1944. Between 9am on Saturday 27 and 9am on Sunday 28, MetService’s automatic weather station at Westport Airport recorded 97.2mm of rainfall, beating the 2001 record of 85.0mm. During the rainfall event, covered by several Severe Weather Warnings and Watches, Hokitika Airport recorded 113.6mm in the same time period, its third wettest November day since 1963.

MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker explains. “During heavy rain events on the west coast of Te Waipounamu / South Island, the ranges tend to bear the brunt of the rainfall, with the coast seeing relatively little precipitation. In this event, weather stations in populated regions near the coast itself were recording almost as much as stations in the ranges.”

Looking ahead, MetService is forecasting a more settled week. A warm airmass remains over all of Aotearoa / New Zealand throughout the week, with most centres seeing temperatures in the high teens to mid-twenties. Blenheim and Wanaka are both expected to reach 28°C today (Monday), with Wanaka also forecast to top the charts at 27°C tomorrow.

These above average temperatures, combined with high humidity, will lead to muggy conditions. Cloud and the odd shower are expected for most places, with short lived fine breaks, but lower parts of Te Ika-a-Māui / North Island will see rain on Tuesday as a front slowly moves over the area. MetService has issued a Heavy Rain Watch for the Tararua Range between 6am – 6pm on Tuesday. “MetService advises people to keep up to date with the latest forecasts in case this Watch is upgraded to a Warning, or further areas are added,” cautions Bakker.

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