Thunder and rain set to dampen weekend plans as 'messy period of weather' arrives

Friday, 8 November 2019

Heavy rain warnings are in place for the West Coast this weekend.

It's going to be a wet weekend for many Kiwis, with heavy rain and thunderstorms set to soak the country.

A series of fronts from the Tasman Sea and also warm northwesterlies will bring periods of heavy rain to those in the west for the majority of the weekend.

MetService has almost the entire West Coast under a heavy rain warning over the next few days with up to 300mm expected for parts of the Westland ranges.

'Aotearoa is in for a messy period of weather with plenty of rain and wind around this weekend,' MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris says.

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Cars driving through surface flooding during heavy rain. (File photo)

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The heaviest rain is expected about the ranges of the South Island and warnings are in force for Fiordland, Westland, Buller and the ranges near Nelson.

Rain watches also cover the western part of Southland and the headwaters of the Canterbury and Otago Lakes and Rivers. On Friday, there was a risk of thunderstorms for the west of the island including Fiordland.

Gale northwesterlies are also expected to affect the Canterbury High Country, and a watch for possible severe gales is still in place.

Christchurch residents will have another cracker of a day on Saturday, with some sunshine and a high of 27 degrees Celsius forecast.

However, the temperature will lower on Sunday, as a southwest change sweeps through, bringing rain in the afternoon. On Monday it'll be raining and temperatures in Canterbury will drop further, with a high of 13C and a low of 5C forecast overnight.

Dunedin will have a similar pattern of weather, with a finer day on Saturday and a high of 25C on the cards. But then a southwest change will bring rain on Sunday and into Monday.

In the North Island, Saturday looks to be slightly drier but the rain is set to soak many places on Sunday.

Wellingtonians can expect their weekend to kick-off with cloud and the occasional spell of rain.

Here's the weekend weather forecast from MetService.

A high of 19C is forecast for the capital on both Saturday and Sunday, but rain will linger around the city for most of the weekend. Monday morning will see some possible heavy rainfalls.

In Auckland, cloud and isolated showers are predicted for Saturday, with a high of 22C. But Sunday looks set to be wet for many, with some showers continuing into the start of the working week.

The Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty will also see a good amount of rain and strong winds that could reach severe gales from late Saturday through to early Monday.

The ranges near Gisborne will also see some rainfall over the same time period.

A weak ridge of high pressure is expected to build over the South Island late Monday and Tuesday, as the rain moves away to the east of the North Island.

'Conditions begin to ease on Tuesday but the next rainband is forecast to affect the South Island on Wednesday,' Ferris says.