It’s the South Island that juts out most into the swarm of westerly fronts that are attacking New Zealand at the moment says WeatherWatch.co.nz.

The current westerly pattern is seeing surges of wind, rain, hail, thunder and a mixture of warm and cool days, mostly for the South Island.

This weekend is no different with the next surge of rain moving in to the West Coast. Heavy rain from a front which will be slowed down by a high to the north means there is a possibility for rain warnings right along the coast – starting in Fiordland on Saturday then moving northwards slowly on Sunday and Monday.

At the same time strong winds will again brush the lower South Island, rising up to the North Island by Monday.

While the severe weather is more South Island focused this weekend WeatherWatch.co.nz forecasters believe that most main centres will miss the worst of it, with the roughest weather confined to the mountains and ranges, or less populated rural areas.

A similar pattern continues next week and most likely for the rest of November.

– Homepage image / File, Rose Taylor

– WeatherWatch.co.nz