Severe gales, heavy rain, then a shot of polar air to drop temperatures with heavy snow. It’s a busy few days ahead weatherwise for many regions across New Zealand.

RAIN:
Rain remains on Sunday before the colder air arrives on Monday, turning rain to showers and/or snow and sleet. Hail showers are also highly likely.

GALES:
Generally speaking around the country winds are strongest Sunday and Monday.

SNOW:
From a cold air and snow perspective this starts on Sunday PM and peaks across Monday for the lower South Island, with coldest air reaching the North Island over Monday and into Tuesday AM.

Snow may be heavy above 200 to 400m for the lower South Island, with a possibility snow may even get down to sea level around Dunedin and other coastal parts of Otago down to the Catlins on Monday. Snow to sea level in NZ is often borderline but it’s certainly possible for a time with this set-up from about Dunedin southwards, in the south-easter corner of the South Island.

Late on Monday and into Tuesday snow will also affect the Central North Island, including State Highway 1 (The Desert Road).

TEMPERATURES:
Are above normal for many in the North Island today, but become below normal for most places over the next 24 to 48 hours nationwide.

---

• Wind chill, peak winds, temperatures, rainfall (see www.RuralWeather.co.nz or look under “Trends” in our app.
• MetService warnings and watches
• Cumulative rainfall maps for 7 days
• Maps and radar page
• Our free app and alerting app (main app is entirely FREE. Paid alerting allows you to set your own criteria at multiple locations for push alerts, including official MetService warnings & watches pushed to your device(s) for multiple locations for $6.99 a month).

---

Sunday:
Brisk to severe gale north-westerly winds blow over the North Island with wind warnings likely in the north and east. Rain sets in over the top half of the South Island thanks to a weak area of low pressure. This could be good news for the northern half of Canterbury which is drier than usual for this time of year. But snow may lower in north Canterbury for a time as cold air meets that rain. Polar air arrives in the lower South Island later with snow levels lowering across the island by night time. Elsewhere rain or frequent showers will be passing through.

Monday:
A rough day for a number of regions. Snow to sea level is possible in parts of Otago and maybe the eastern side of Southland. Dunedin has a chance of snow to sea level for a time. Further north snow to sea level is less likely. This system is very cold and therefore lacks some moisture, and if winds shift more south-west that will keep more of Canterbury dry. The polar air is also short lived, gone by night time for most.

Snow flurries move into the North Island ranges, mountains and Central Plateau on either Monday PM or Tuesday AM.

MAX temperatures on Monday from Dunedin to Queenstown will be only around +4 to 0 degrees. Wind chill for livestock will be below zero for over 24 hours.

🚨❄️#Updated 48 Hour Nationwide #snow map. This shows were snow will settle and build. Lighter falls will also surround these blue zones, either as isolated flurries or in a rain/snow/sleet mix. pic.twitter.com/RxajJC2cAL

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) August 17, 2024

🚨❄️🥶#Updated 48 Hour #Snow Map. This shows where snow is most likely to settle and build up. Lighter falls will fall lower, possibly to sea level for a time, especially in the south-eastern corner from about #Dunedin southwards. pic.twitter.com/8aNg0qkVW7

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) August 17, 2024

❄️🚨🥶#Snow Update.

Snow is highly likely across the hills/ranges of the South Island next few days.

Snow to sea level is often borderline in NZ. The temperate climate (sea & ocean) usually melts the snow before it reaches sea level. But it's possible here, including #Dunedin: pic.twitter.com/WjZnEED14J

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) August 17, 2024

• WeatherWatch.co.nz / RuralWeather.co.nz / Alerting App
• NZ’s most accurate weather data and more computing power (by far) than any other NZ forecaster.