If warm nor’westers are your thing make the most of the next three days – as it’s all about to change.

In fact, starting on Sunday – and setting in on Monday – will be a strong to gale force westerly flow across New Zealand which will gradually tilt south west during the week.

“We’re now about to move away from the humid northerlies and into windy westerlies” says head weather analyst Philip Duncan.  “This is great news for those regions hit hardest by recent flooding in the North Island, such as Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawkes Bay”.

Mr Duncan says the west to south west flow next week should bring mostly dry weather and “perhaps the odd isolated shower” to the regions hit hardest by flooding and slips over recent weeks.  “On Sunday another rain band will move across New Zealand then the gate is left wide open for the westerlies to roar in from the Southern Ocean”.

And as the Roaring 40s fire into life over the country it will be the southern regions of both islands most exposed.

Today we’re getting a taste of the wild weather with hurricane force winds blasting Stewart Island and felling trees, powerlines and causing road closures around Dunedin.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says the windy weather will last for most of next week until a large high comes in from Australia by next weekend – according to the latest long range models.

“It’s possible we may not see any further sub-tropical rain activity over New Zealand for the rest of May – it’s certainly the forecast for the next 10 days” says Mr Duncan.

Temperatures will also drop for some regions – but lift in others.  “This wind direction should mean daytime highs in the north and west will drop a couple of degrees but overnight lows will drop even more.  However the winds should boost temperatures in eastern areas with those cold easterlies finally dying out over the South Island”.
 

– Image – Strong south west winds will blow over NZ next Tuesday due to a high over Australia and deep lows in the Southern Ocean / GFS

– WeatherWatch.co.nz