Cyclone Pola reached “severe†category 3 status late yesterday and will be a powerful offshore storm for another 48 hours or so.

The positive news is that Pola is missing most, if not all, populated places and will skirt Tonga today just out to the west. Meanwhile Pola isn’t likely to impact New Zealand very much this Saturday when it’s at its closest point to the North Island. Perhaps a few light showers caught up in the breezy to brisk SE wind flow. Also some bigger waves and more dangerous rips and currents as a result of the offshore storm this weekend in some eastern beaches from Northland to East Cape.

Otherwise NZ is mostly dry for the next two weeks ahead. We take a look at the 14 day rainfall accumulation map which shows many places remaining very dry with the bulk of the rain falling in our rain forest, Fiordland.