It’s the start of summer but the weather is about to return to spring with strong winds, more cloud and cooler air about to surge northwards.

The unsettled pattern, which we first forecast for Auckland last weekend, will be a nationwide event but places like Auckland and Dunedin are main centres most exposed to the wind or cooler air.

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WINDIER WEATHER ARRIVES:
The windier weather started on Friday Jan 3. If you’re camping the silver lining is many places look dry – but the negative is definitely blustery winds worthy of ripping the odd tent and certainly making for blustery nights and days. 

With dry high pressure parked over Australia and big storms still churning just south of NZ in the Southern Ocean it’s not surprising at all that we’re now in the windy squash zone between this belt of high and lower air pressure. In spring-style the winds will be off and on and will surge between warm nor’westers and cooler west to sou’westers.

Monday (Jan 6) looks to be the windiest day within the next week. Gusts over 120km/h are likely around exposed parts of the South Island and lower North Island as a storm in the Southern Ocean brushes nearby – it’s this storm (south of NZ) that will kick up a cooler air flow mid next week too, across most of the country.

Next week kicks off windy but lighter winds are expected by the end of next week.

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EDUCATION: Why is New Zealand often windy? We explain the ‘Roaring Forties’ belt of wind…

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LOWER TEMPS
Cooler weather off and on creeps back over New Zealand within the next 7 days. It won’t feel like summer for some southern and western coastal places. Parts of Southland and Otago (coastal mainly) will only just break into the low teens by the middle of next week.

Even northern NZ has a cool down next week. Auckland has a high of only 19 next Wednesday, well down on recent weeks.

The Bay of Islands, one of the hotter parts of the upper North Island is forecast to be closer to 30 degrees today but next week the highs will be in the early 20s.

Also, normally hot Hawke’s Bay also has a big cool down coming. Highs next week may well be in the late teens or just reaching 20 degrees. This is around 10 degrees lower than the highs have recently been reaching.

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MORE CLOUD:
Next week sees much more cloud in southern and western regions of both islands. While most places are drier – and drier than average – the clouds will help drop temperatures and, at times, give a feeling like rain may be coming when in reality there is nothing – or just a brief shower.

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WHEN DOES TRUE SUMMER WEATHER RETURN?
High pressure is likely to expand across all of New Zealand later next week bringing: 1) Lighter winds, 2) Sunnier Skies, 3) Warmer weather. 

In fact by next Friday and next weekend we may be back to sub-tropical northerly quarter winds.  But this may also bring a surge of windier weather back, perhaps to Cook Strait, Wellington and other surrounding areas.

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LONG RANGE:
You can find our New monthly and seasonal forecasts here. We have just launched this new product so we’d appreciate feedback on accuracy at the end of the month should you have the time to let us know: www.weatherwatch.co.nz/content/new-january-3-month-climateseasonal-outlook-nz-8-maps

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– WeatherWatch.co.nz