Widespread Thunderstorm Potential For Sunday
The low pressure system sitting off the North Islands West Coast has edged closer to the country during Saturday, with associated fronts lined up for both islands.
The first front is due to arrive Saturday evening in the far north with the first wave of thunderstorms developing after dark, spreading across Northland and Auckland overnight and central North Island from morning, continuing throughout the day. During the day each passing front will have embedded storms, becoming less frequent further east. Highest chances will be north of Tokoroa and Rotorua, though storms my develop in southern regions of both Waikato and Bay of Plenty. From late morning the west and lower North Island gets in on the thunderstorm action as the low crosses southeast over central New Zealand.
South Islanders on both sides of the island could experience some thundery falls as a cold front clashes with warm air from the Tasman low. For the east coast from Dunedin through to Marlborough Sounds, storms my develop in the afternoon, however the storm is concentrated around Canterbury from Timaru to Kaikoura. West Coast districts could also experience thunderstorms as the cold front moves through.
Please note, these storms generate localised strong winds, heavy downpours and small hail.
Heavy Rain will also impact areas of both islands. Taranaki, Tasman and Westland all have heavy rain risks with the highest rainfall totals for mountain/hill country areas. Risk maps have been updated with further detailed information on the upcoming stormy weather and heavy rain which can be found by clicking the ‘Significant Weather Outlook’ icon at the bottom of the page.
CLICK HERE FOR LATEST THUNDERSTORM RISK MAP FOR YOUR REGION
CLICK HERE FOR LATEST THUNDERSTORM RISK MAP FOR YOUR REGION
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Thunderstorm percentage risk maps below are for general overview purposes ONLY. Please refer to our forecasts for accuracy.
