> From the WeatherWatch archives
– All of New Zealand set to be windy
– High temperatures for this time of year
A huge storm spiralling south of New Zealand is driving gale force winds over the far south this afternoon and it’s set to get worse. The low, which is in the Southern Ocean, is going to intensify in the next 24 hours brining severe gales to southern and eastern parts of the South Island and gales into southern and eastern parts of the North Island.
“Winds have picked up steadily this afternoon and are gusting close to 110km/h in the southern coasts of Stewart Island and Fiordland. Gales are also being experienced on the hill tops of Wellingtonwith gusts to 100km/h on the southern tip of the North Island” according to the Radio Network’s head weather analyst Philip Duncan. “Inland Hawke’s Bay is also feeling strong gusts this afternoon and they’ll pick up to gale force in the next 24 hours”.
The Crown has also issued a number of weather warnings, with MetService expecting heavy rain on the west coast and severe gales of 120km/h for the entire east coast of the South island and lower part of the North Island during Friday and Saturday.
“Satellite maps clearly show this storm spiralling in the Southern Ocean, it really is quite dramatic and is in stark contrast with the relatively clear and calm skies in the northern Tasman where a large high is sitting”. Duncan says it’s the low pressure pushing against the high that’s bringing the severe winds.
He expects the worst winds in the South Island to be from noon Friday to Saturday morning and the North Island copping the worst during Saturday afternoon and Sunday with Wellington and Masterton most exposed.
The strong winds are already hiking up the temperatures. “It’s 17 degrees in Tauranga and Blenheim this hour with 18 in Gisborne and a very warm 19 degrees in Christchurch. There’ll definitely be no frosts over the next 72 hours!”
WEATHER NEWS HEADLINES:
– Heavy rain for the South Island’s West Coast.
– Large High north of New Zealand will drift away to the east over the next few days.
– Temperatures may reach into the lower 20’s tomorrow in Christchurch, Blenheim and Hawke’s Bay.
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Before you add a new comment, take note this story was published on 8 Aug 2007.
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