Easter Friday is off to a wet and warm start for most of the North Island while those in the South Island woke to a frosty cold morning.
In the South Island, Wanaka recorded a morning temperature of 2C and Alexander recorded 0C.
“It was a pretty cold and frosty start to the morning down there. A good part of the South Island is pretty cold,” said MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor.
A sharp temperature gradient across Aotearoa at 7am this morning 🌡
— MetService (@MetService) April 6, 2023
Some in the far south may experience a light frost this morning 🥶 while those in the north saw double digit overnight temperatures as a warm sub-tropical feature approaches
Details at: https://t.co/Yjbq0jgaoz pic.twitter.com/yv8WHgsfAn
Meanwhile, O’Connor said North Island regions, especially those in the east, woke to warm and wet conditions.
Hastings recorded 10mm of rain in an hour around 6.30am while near Gisborne, Hicks Bay recorded 20mm and Tolaga Bay recorded 10mm of rain since midnight.
“Gisborne itself hasn’t recorded any rain yet but it’s on the way for them and we’re expecting some heavy falls over the region,” said O’Connor.
An orange heavy rain warning for the region has been in place since 6am today and remains until midnight on Saturday.
MetService said the ranges could see between 100 to 140mm of rain while the coast would see lesser amounts. Peak rates of 15 to 25 mm/h of rainfall is expected.
There is also a heavy rain watch in place for Hawke’s Bay from 9am today until 3am Sunday.
🟠 Severe Weather Update 🟠
— MetService (@MetService) April 6, 2023
It's looking like a wet start to the Easter holiday for the east of the North Island. A Heavy Rain Warning has been issued for Gisborne Tairāwhiti and a Watch for Hawke's Bay. Keep up with the latest at https://t.co/jRxTG7MWdi pic.twitter.com/55Tbxyya9G
A heavy rain watch period for Northland overnight ended this morning but O’Connor said while the rain had eased off, the area should be prepared to see some more this afternoon and some showers on and off throughout the day.
Meanwhile, Auckland had some showers this morning but is in for a mostly cloudy day.
O’Connor said the best places to be today are on the West Coast of the South Island and in areas between Taranaki and Wellington.
“The west coast, Taranaki round to Wellington, Kapiti Coast and Whanganui is going to pretty nice for the North Island. It will be partly cloudy, so not full skies, but a nicer day compared to the rest of the North Island anyway,’ said O’Connor.
Friday's emojicast:
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) April 6, 2023
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☀️🌤️🌤️ 🌤️
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In the South Island, a southeasterly flow will result in sunshine for the West Coast.
Cloud and some drizzle across the rest of the South Island is expected to clear throughout the day.
Moving through the long weekend, rain for the North Island, especially in the east, won’t begin to clear until late on Saturday.
On Sunday, the rain will start to move away from the east of the North Island and start to track south across the rest of the country.
The South Island will start to see showers and rain on Sunday and Monday.