Huge swells are moving towards the nation’s west coast as projected here for 7pm Saturday.  Key: Green indicates swells around 2 metres, dark red/purple indicates swells of 7 and 8 metres.  Image/SwellMap.com

Huge seas are going to affect much of the length of New Zealand’s west coast as a small but very intense low drops through the Tasman Sea.

The low, which is likely to bring wind and rain across the weekend to many regions, is currently just north west of New Zealand but isn’t going to make ‘landfall’ until Saturday when it crosses the lower South Island somewhere near Fiordland. 

The centre of the low will track down the central Tasman Sea drifting to east until it reaches the lower South Island.

Extremely high seas and dangerous waves will affect the South Island’s entire West Coast and a significant portion with smaller but still dangerous seas along the North Island’s west coast.  The Far North is also likely to see big waves right around the northern tip and down the western side, according to SwellMap.com.

WeatherWatch.co.nz advises boaties to avoid much of the west coast from Friday to Sunday and keep up to date with the latest marine forecasts provided by MetService.