There is a saying that if “March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb”.

It will be interesting to see how the month ends, because it looks like the beginning of the month is going to have a decidedly “King of the Jungle” flavour to it.

Things will be settled for the next few days.  That’s thanks to high pressure moving in off the Tasman today.  That will stick around until early next week.  

On Wednesday and Thursday a cold front is expected to make its way across the country from south to north.  That bring a round of showers to the South Island on the last day of February (Wednesday) and another round of showers to the North Island on the first day of March (Thursday).

On Friday, is when things begin to “roar”.

The models are currently indicating that a tiny, but potent low pressure centre will move across New Zealand Friday afternoon into Friday night, and then hang around for Saturday morning as well.  This low has the potential to bring with showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds for the entire country.  Heavy falls would also be possible with this system.

At this time, the best chance for the heavy falls would be the northern South Island including Nelson, Marlborough and northern Canterbury.

Once we get into Saturday afternoon, the low should move far enough away that the weather will start to settle.  It looks like things could turn pleasant in time for Sunday.

That will give us a nice one day break for another, slower moving rain make moves in for the early part of first full week of March.

-Photo by Yaaay

-By WeatherWatch Analyst Howard Joseph