Wet and Cold for Mid-Winter

Issued at 12:33pm 19-Jul-2006
Wet and Cold for Mid-Winter

MetService meteorologists have issued severe weather warnings for heavy rain for the Coromandel Peninsula, western Bay of Plenty, and Hawke's Bay regions and the Tararua District. A heavy snow warning has been issued for the Canterbury Foothills, higher parts of the Canterbury Plains, and Banks Peninsula.

"There's more to come", said MetService Weather Ambassador, Bob McDavitt.
"Late July and early August is normally the coldest time of the year, and this winter has so far been colder and wetter than normal. Between now and Saturday we will be having a real dose of mid-winter weather."

On Thursday and early Friday a low-pressure system is forecast to slowly cross the North Island. This will bring wind-driven rain to the already soggy eastern and southern parts of the North Island and to Marlborough.

An intense area of high pressure is building over Tasmania. On Friday this will combine with the low-pressure system to bring bitterly cold southerlies directly from the polar ice shelf onto New Zealand. There will not be much moisture in this cold air but it will be capable of bringing snow showers to sea level in the south on Friday and to low levels over central and southeastern parts of the North Island on Saturday.

"Intense wind-chill and bitter cold over the next few days is likely to put extreme stress on any newly born calves and lambs or recently shorn sheep.
This is mid-winter at its peak."

ENDS

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