Covering period of Thursday 31 October - Monday 4 November

Looks like we are in for a boo-tiful evening for the eastern parts of the country, and trick-or-treaters heading out this evening will enjoy the best of the weather. Clear skies and dry weather are set to keep things spooktacular from the Bay of Plenty, round the east coast and down to Christchurch. Western areas will be keeping hold of more cloud into the evening while rain runs into Southland and Stewart Island.

A series of weather fronts move northwards up the South Island today and tomorrow, and a Heavy Rain Watch has been issued for the Paparoa Range as well as the ranges of Buller from 11am – 11pm on Friday. Mostly dry weather will be seen over on the east of the South Island on Thursday, but a southerly change on Friday afternoon brings a risk of heavy showers and thunderstorms about Dunedin and North Otago.

The first of the mix of fronts moving up the South Island reaches the lower North Island Friday afternoon, squeezing northwesterly winds through Cook Strait. A gusty end to Friday is in store about the Marlborough Sounds and Wellington, with winds reaching 90 km/h at times.

MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor advises, “It’s a wet Saturday for both the North and South Islands, the fronts which brought rain to the South continue over the North on Saturday, while showery southwesterly winds continue in the South Island. These winds come with a bit of a bite and will arrive about the lower North Island Saturday evening.”

Temperatures could dip to 0°C about Central Otago as skies mostly clear overnight into Sunday, but the showers and southerly winds will be especially felt about the eastern North Island. Daytime temperatures in the Hawke’s Bay drop from an expected maximum of 26°C on Saturday to a cooler 16°C on Sunday. The treat of nicer weather to end the weekend may be a little too late for Halloween but is likely to be a welcome reprieve.

Participants in the Auckland Marathon on Sunday can expect a cool and dry course; while southwesterly winds will be apparent crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge, they won’t take away from the unique experience of crossing the harbour on foot.

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