NZ's cold, windy weather set to improve...but not until Friday

New Zealand's weather the past few days has been more suited to kite and windsurfers as a gusty southwesterly continues to punish the whole country. Photo / File

A gusty southwesterly that has been pounding the country the past few days is finally beginning to ease.

Most North Island areas should feel a noticeable difference by Thursday or Friday when winds are set to register as "sea breezes".

The reprieve comes as fierce southwesterlies have slammed the country; the strongest - 196km/h - recorded at Cape Turnagain, an isolated area of the southern Hawke's Bay coast.

Wind warnings were in place for the region as well as Dunedin and Clutha, while power was out for 2600 properties in Manawatu and Whanganui this morning after strong winds downed trees and power lines. Several properties in Dunedin were affected yesterday but had since had their power restored.

MetService duty meteorologist Lewis Ferris said the wind and temperatures would ease and improve as we inched closer to the weekend.

"Yesterday there was a cold front that swept up the country, it made it through Auckland quite early in the morning and there wasn't much rain associated with that ... but behind that we have had this quite strong southwest flow, which has turned up as westerlies in a few places including Hawke's Bay ... Otago and Clutha.

"However, it is going to be easing throughout the week. There is a ridge of high pressure which has associated low winds in the Tasman and that is slowly drifting eastwards over us."

Auckland would get to 19C today, which was 4C cooler than average for this time of year.

However, given the wind chill factor it would feel colder, he said.

As for wind, Ferris said Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch registered 56km/h winds - while Tauranga and Hamilton peaked about 46km/h.

The reason the whole country was being battered by strong winds was due to the southwesterly that is not being associated with any other front. Instead, it is being sandwiched by a low and high pressure systems either side of the country.

"Because we're orientated to the southwest as a country, that means that it can basically affect the whole country at the same time.

"And also because it's not associated with a front. There is a low pressure out to the east of the country and a high pressure to the west, so in between that there has been a squeeze that has basically engulfed the whole country."

Ferris said temperatures in the North Island will be back to normal by Thursday and by Friday in the South Island.

"Heading into Saturday we move back into a northwest environment which means eastern areas of the South Island will be getting to above average temperatures."

A rain band would begin moving up the South Island late on Saturday through Sunday, but would unlikely reach the North Island until early next week due to the slow moving high pressure system.

WARMING UP

TODAY SATURDAY
Auckland 19 23
Hamilton 20 24
Tauranga 22 24
Hastings 22 27
Wellington 17 19
Christchurch 17 27
Dunedin 15 25