Wind, rain and snow: More messy spring weather to hit NZ this week

New Zealand is in for another week of messy spring weather, with strong winds and rainy fronts arriving on the back of severe thunderstorms that have been lighting up North Island skies.
Meteorologists counted around 7000 lightning strikes within the space of a few hours yesterday afternoon, with most of the weather action centred on Taranaki and Whanganui.
“We’re still stuck in quite a disturbed westerly flow as we start the week off, with more embedded fronts sweeping up the country,” MetService forecaster Ngaire Wotherspoon said.
That included a front moving over the northern North Island this morning, bringing a low risk of pre-dawn thunderstorms about Auckland and about northern Northland later today.
In the western South Island, a more active front with rain was due to swing in this morning, followed by a cooler west-to-southwest change.
That also came with a chance of morning thunderstorms, but focused on West Coast regions including Fiordland, Westland, the Grey District and Buller.
More wild weather was forecast to hit the lower South Island on Tuesday, when a trough arrived with west to northwest winds potentially reaching gale strength.
MetService has issued strong wind watches for southern Fiordland and coastal parts of Clutha and Southland, including Stewart Island, for most of Tuesday.
The agency also warned of a low chance of severe northwesterly gales hitting Wellington and Wairarapa on Tuesday, as well as the Canterbury high country.
“The country does get a little bit of a break from those fronts on Wednesday, but unfortunately, not for long, because we do have another one making its way here,” Wotherspoon said.
That was forecast to move northeast over the South Island on Thursday, followed by cold southwesterlies that could bring showers and snow to low levels for Otago and Southland.
While that snow wasn’t likely to warrant weather warnings, MetService said the bitterly cold conditions could stress livestock and affect local roads.
Thursday also brought a moderate risk of severe northwesterly gales across the Marlborough Sounds, Wellington and Wairarapa south of the Tararua District.
Wotherspoon said the week’s fronts were likely to bring cooler temperatures over much of the country, including the central North Island, where forecast overnight lows sat in the low single digits over Tuesday and Wednesday.
Auckland’s forecast maximums throughout the week meanwhile hovered around the late teens, amid mostly cloudy conditions.
The westerly pattern meant the week’s warmest weather could be found in eastern centres like Napier and Gisborne – both forecast to hit 21C today.
Jamie Morton is a specialist in science and environmental reporting. He joined the Herald in 2011 and writes about everything from conservation and climate change to natural hazards and new technology.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.