Wild weather: Heavy rain, gales gusting up to 130kmh, and thunderstorms set to hit

Tuesday, 19 January 2021

Strong winds and high seas for this week feature in the latest MetService weather forecast.

Goodbye summer and hello winter weather – for this week at least.

Heavy rain, gales gusting up to 130kmh, snow, thunderstorms, chilly temperatures, and 10-metre waves are all on the cards from Tuesday. By Wednesday, it will feel more like April than January, according to Niwa Weather.

The wild weather is being caused by an active front that's forecast to move across southern and central New Zealand from the Tasman Sea during Tuesday.

The front is preceded by strong and moist northwesterlies, then followed by an unstable west to southwest flow, MetService says.

**READ MORE:

Nobody really knows how long you might have to wait for one of those “good days”.

* Heavy rain, 130kmh gusts, 10-metre swells and snow coming this week

* Wild, windy weather on the way to Wellington and Wairarapa

* No swimming in Pātea River, Stratford District Council warns

* Little respite between rounds of heavy rain and gales

Weather warnings and watches are in place for much of the country of Tuesday.

Weather warnings and watches are in place for much of the country on Tuesday, including heavy rain warnings for the ranges of Westland south of Otira. As well as the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers, and Fiordland.

Strong wind warnings are in place for Marlborough, Wellington, the Canterbury High Country, Hawke's Bay south of Hastings and the Tararua District, and Wairarapa on Tuesday.

Strong wind watches are also in place for the Southern Lakes, Central Otago and inland Dunedin, as well as Fiordland, Southland west of Invercargill until Tuesday evening.

MetService has issued heavy rain watches for Mount Taranaki, Nelson west of Takaka Hill, the Tararua Ranges, the ranges of Westland from Otira northwards and Buller, and the headwaters of Otago lakes and rivers.

Thunderstorms might also spring up in some places, with MetService stating online that the weather over the South Island was expected to become increasingly unstable on Tuesday morning.

There is a high risk of thunderstorms for Fiordland and Westland during the morning, with a moderate risk of thunderstorms in Buller. According to the forecaster, these thunderstorms will have the potential to bring heavy rain of 10-25mmh and hail.

Ominous clouds forming over the quake-damaged Catholic cathedral in Christchurch on Tuesday morning.

In Westland, there will also be a risk of very heavy rain with intensities greater than 25mmh, strong winds gusting 90-110 kmh and a possible small localised tornado. While in Fiordland there is also the possibility of strong winds gusting 90-110 kmh, or possibly stronger, MetService says.

Swell waves of 6-8m are expected about southern and western coastlines of both islands from Tuesday to Thursday, as a result of a prolonged period of strong southwest winds over the Southern Ocean.

“When these swells are combined with strong southwest winds, waves heights reaching 10m are likely about the southwest of the South Island,” MetService meteorologist Peter Little told Stuff on Monday night.

The stormy weather is also set to hang around on Wednesday, with the forecaster warning of heavy rain for Buller, and possible northwest gales becoming severe over Fiordland, Southland and Otago.

A cool change is also expected to arrive on Wednesday, with snow predicted for the Southern Alps, and the snow level dropping to 1000 metres in Fiordland.

Severe gale northwesterlies are also possible for the Canterbury High Country and Marlborough, except the Kaikōura Coast on Wednesday, as well as Wellington and southern Wairarapa.

In the main centres, Aucklanders can expect fine spells throughout the day on Tuesday, with scattered showers and a high of 25 degrees Celsius. Northwesterlies will become strong in exposed places in the evening. On Wednesday, rain will ease throughout the day and strong westerlies are forecast. A high of 21C is expected.

In Wellington, a cloudy, wet day is on the cards. A strong wind warning is in place between 11am-9pm, with MetService warning of severe northwesterly gales gusting up to 130kmh in exposed places. A high of 20C is forecast. Wednesday will be overcast with northwesterly winds gusting up to 80kmh, with high of 16C.

In Christchurch, a cloudy day is forecast with some rain and gusty northwesterlies expected in the afternoon. A high of 26C is expected. On Wednesday, a similarly cloudy day is predicted, with gale northwesterlies in exposed places, and a high of 21C.

In Dunedin, a cloudy day is on the cards with possible afternoon showers, and a high of 21C. A strong wind watch is in place until 10pm on Tuesday. On Wednesday, rain is expected throughout the day, easing in the evening with strong westerlies and a high of 18C.

A ridge of high pressure is expected to move across the country from the west later on Thursday and during Friday.