Your weather: Last days of warmer temperatures before winter blast hits

By Ben Leahy

Reporter·NZ Herald·

28 May, 2019 05:40 PM4 mins to read

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Aucklanders are being warned to enjoy the next two days of warmer weather before the winter blast hits this Queen's Birthday weekend.

The city will climb to a warmer than average high of 19C today with morning showers clearing later in the day, before the mercury again hits a balmy 20C tomorrow, MetService says.

But then the weather takes a turn for the worst. Rain will hit on Friday before the cold snap sends the temperature down to a chilly 14C on Saturday.

Queen's Birthday Monday could be the pick of the long weekend weather with the day being mostly clear of rain and temperatures rising again to a high of 17C before a second low brings rain to the whole country on Tuesday.

Residents in Northland, the Coromandel, Tauranga, Hamilton and Hawke's Bay can expect a similar pattern, whereby temperatures climb to highs ranging from 19C-21C over the next two days before the wintry blast blows in.

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Wellington and New Plymouth can expect tops of 17C and 18C today with the rain then setting in tomorrow.

Wellington residents will then need to rug up with forecaster WeatherWatch tipping the capital to drop to a wet and wintry 11C on Saturday.

Christchurch can expect a mostly fine top today of 19C, while elsewhere in the South Island the rain has already set in.

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Heavy rain warnings are still in place this morning on the West Coast and parts of the high country in Otago, Fiordland and Canterbury.

WeatherWatch is warning of further heavy downfalls and possible thunderstorms in the West Coast on Thursday with the rain likely to cause slips and flooding, meaning motorists should take "extreme care".

It comes after WeatherWatch yesterday warned temperatures could plummet by as much as 10C this weekend as a snowy blast hits from the south.

How cold will the cold blast be? Here's Saturday's lowest daytime highs (+2 Maps) https://t.co/hZIwKSXy9Y via @weatherwatchnz #NewZealand #weather
— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) May 28, 2019

The forecaster tipped Hamilton will plunge to a daytime high of 12C on Saturday, while the Bay of Islands and Hawke's Bay will fall to highs of 14C and 12C respectively.

In the South Island, Christchurch will fall to only 9C on Saturday with WeatherWatch warning "it gets colder the further south you go".

This will lead to Queenstown dropping to highs on Saturday and Monday of 5C with snow showers.

Dunedin temperatures will fall to only 7C on Saturday with snow down to 400m and hail to sea level.

Strong wind gusts will continue to be part of the weather story tomorrow as blustery northwesterlies hold a tight grip of the country.

🔴 = 100+ km/h gusts

Keep both hands on the steering wheel! pic.twitter.com/VXPh6CIbs8
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) May 28, 2019

Queens Birthday traffic:

Commuting around Auckland might be disrupted over Queen's Birthday weekend due to construction work connected to the City Rail Link project.

The areas impacted most are part of Mt Eden and some rail services on sections of the Southern and Eastern Lines.

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Buses will replace trains on some sections of the Southern and Eastern Lines due to upgrades, including the construction of an additional line for a third platform at Otahuhu Station, of the Auckland rail network.

Meanwhile, no weekend construction is planned for CRL's Lower Queen St/Britomart and Albert St sites in central Auckland.