Easter weather forecast: Heavy rain warnings for South Island holidaymakers

A heavy rain warning is in place for part of Westland, with a heavy rain watch also in force for river spillover in areas of Canterbury as a rain band crosses the South Island. Image / MetService

South Island holidaymakers making the most of the Easter long weekend can expect dreary weather, with a heavy rain warning in place for areas in the Westland district until midnight on Saturday.

A slow-moving front that brought heavy rain to the central South Island on Saturday is weakening, and a heavy rain watch for parts of Canterbury has been lifted.

MetService meteorologist Michael Pawley told the Herald the state of most of the country was relatively gloomy on Saturday, with conditions expected to be particularly soggy in the south.

“In general, it’s looking pretty wet for the South Island,” he said.

“We have this band of rain that is moving up the South Island and it’s pushing in from the west, so it’s going to be mainly western parts which have the heavier rain.”

A heavy rain warning is in place for the ranges of the Westland district north of the Haast River until midnight on Saturday.

A heavy rain watch has been lifted for the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers south of Arthur’s Pass.

Although further rain is expected on Saturday night, amounts are not expected to threaten warning criteria so the watch has been lifted, MetService said.

“The watch is for if there’s spillover, and so that – even though it’s falling mainly in the west – can cause some of the streams and things to rise about the Canterbury Plains,” he said.

“So that’s something else to keep an eye on if you’re holidaying in the Canterbury high country at the moment.”

In the North Island, bands of rain and murky, overcast conditions are expected in most regions.

“We’ve got some areas of morning cloud and fog, which will clear or lift into sort of a partly cloudy day for most,” he said.

“There’s a northeasterly wind, which is dragging a few showers across places like Northland and Auckland, and then around through Coromandel, Bay of Plenty.”

The eastern parts of Hawke’s Bay and as far south as Whanganui and Manawatū will be bright spots, with a mostly dry and fine conditions forecast.

Temperatures across the North Island will be reaching highs in the low 20s over the weekend, while the southern regions will be cooling off into the mid-teens in some places.

“While they’ve had some warmer temperatures, that’s going to cool down quite a bit once the front passes through,” Pawley said, with Christchurch set to reach just 15C tomorrow.

On Easter Sunday, the south’s heavy rain will ease as the rain band moves north, with the possibility of heavy rain for parts of the North Island by Monday.