UPDATED 10:20am — A northeasterly airflow continues to get directed over New Zealand today with a front appearing in the far north bringing heavy rain into Northland. This isn’t a storm, but a squash zone caused by a powerful high exiting the country and a fairly weak low moving in.

What is the difference? Squash zone events tend to bring a prolonged period of windy weather from the same wind direction.

This is different to a “storm” that moves in – which usually brings more variety and impacts more places and has low pressure that is deep and producing stormy weather on it’s own, without high pressure needed nearby.

🗓️🚨Not the outlook everyone may be wanting, but… here's the forecast Rain & Air Pressure Map for 1 week from today (Jan 11th).

Not yet locked in…but it's sure been consistent on long range maps. Should be able to lock in with more detail this weekend. pic.twitter.com/dSwZsLg9u6

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) January 3, 2023

North Island

Cloudy for the upper North Island and along the east coast with showers and patchy rain at times, northeasterly winds strengthen during the day with strong to gale northeasterlies likely for areas north of Waikato. Northland has heavy rain, reaching Auckland this afternoon especially in the east. Wairarapa should stay mainly dry. Out west (south of Taranaki) expect partly cloudy skies, light winds tend onshore in the afternoon. From Auckland northwards along the eastern coastline gusts of 70 to 100km/h are possible and from Coromandel Peninsula northwards 1 to 2 month’s worth of rain may fall in the next few days.

• VIEW CURRENT METSERVICE WARNINGS HERE

South Island

High cloud and areas of sun, warm temperatures. The West Coast starts to see cloud thicken up from afternoon especially south of about Greymouth bringing in the odd shower. Isolated showers develop for the inland ranges of eastern Otago up through to South Canterbury late afternoon then clearing later on. Cloud may thicken up later today about Southland and Otago. Winds generally from the northerly quarter, afternoon sea breezes for Southland. Northeasterly winds becoming gusty / strong today about the coast north of Banks Peninsula.

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