A large area of low pressure is about to develop right across the Tasman Sea but how much rain is going to fall – and where?  And will we be having another wet weekend as mentioned the other day?

Well firstly the rain that we’ve been hearing about over the West Coast will tomorrow drift northward – but is being crushed by high air pressure both east and west of it.  As the air pressure rises the heaviest rain should peter out and the North Island should only see a few showers in the west as it drifts northwards.

By Saturday and again we have a large area of high pressure over the country so many places should see a pretty good day.  There may still be a few small showers in the west but most places should have a “mainly dry and mostly sunny” Saturday.

On Sunday, things should change. A large, but not particularly deep, low pressure system will form across the Tasman Sea – starting off the Australian coast and drifting our way.   Between our low in the west and our big high in the east we can expect a pretty strong northerly flow across the country – so it’s going to be warm and very spring-like – some areas into the lower 20s especially across the east coast of both islands.

Sunday looked like it would be a wash out for Auckland but I wouldn’t be so quick to write it off.  It may be cloudy and windy but may be not so wet – it’s all about timing…there are a few factors at play – the speed of the departing high in the east, the speed of the developing low in the west and then finally the speed of the rain band moving in.  We’ll have a much better idea later on Friday – at this stage we’re saying showers developing, some heavy.

 Many New Zealanders will see a dry weekend this weekend – eastern areas will certainly be the places to be. 

To ensure you can plan a great weekend outdoors – check WeatherWatch.co.nz for updates across Friday and the weekend!