If you’ve found winter to be mild so far – get ready for a shock. A blast of polar air directly off the Antarctic ice shelf, near Scott Base, is going to roar across the country starting in the Deep South this Wednesday then spreading across the entire country over Thursday and Friday. Expect road closures, flight delays and possible ferry delays. Winter has finally arrived.
Low pressure over the Tasman Sea will bring rain to much of New Zealand during the second half of the weekend, MetService spokesman Daniel Corbett said.
"The approaching low will have a lot of available moisture from the sub-tropics, which could make it quite a wet end to the weekendin many places."
First in line for a drenching is the West Coast of the South Island on Saturday night, and across the rest of the country during Sunday, Mr Corbett said.
"There could be some heavy bursts of rain, especially in northern and western areas from Nelson over to Northland."
MetService had already issued a severe weather warning for Nelson and a watch for many districts further north as well as eastern parts of the South Island. The Otago Regional Council is on flood watch with heavy rain expected on Sunday through to Tuesday.
