Our nation’s weather will have two very different sides to it today.

On the South Island, dry and settled weather is expected.  A few showers may sweep across the far northern part of the South Island.  But elsewhere it should be a pleasant day.  Highs will be mainly in the lower 20s, although some upper 20’s for central Otago are a pretty good bet.

On the North Island, it’s the opposite end of the spectrum.

Cloudy skies and periods of showers are expected today.  Some thunderstorms are also possible, especially for the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and the Central Plateau.  Auckland, Northland and the Coromandel Peninsula may also see thunderstorms today.  There is a very small risk of seeing waterspouts again today, as well as isolated tornadoes.  However, at this time, that is not the main concern.  The main concern is heavy falls.

The showers and thunderstorms could be heavy enough that they could produce surface and flash flooding.  Head weather analyst Philip Duncan says “If the conditions are right we can expect muggy weather on Thursday afternoon which will lead to some very big cloud build ups – these afternoon and evening showers may have torrential rainfall rates which can see drains and small creeks turn into raging torrents in a matter of minutes”.

We will be monitoring things very carefully today, and keep you on top of the latest developments.