This evening, a thick layer of hail has coated the streets of Bethlehem, Tauranga. Video / Supplied
The school holidays are off to a rocky start with hail, severe gales and downpours forecast as a new storm approaches, with Sunday set to bear the worst.
This evening, a thick layer of hail has coated the streets of Bethlehem, Tauranga.
One resident told the Herald thesudden burst of hail was “absolutely nuts”.
A thick layer of hail coated the streets of Bethlehem, Tauranga, on Friday evening. Photo / Supplied
Another woman said the hailstones remained frozen on her lawn hours after the storm hit, even after her kids had played in it.
MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane told the Herald that Kiwis should expect to see an easing trend for the rest of today after a week of “very hectic weather”.
“Midway through Saturday and the latter part of the day, we have our next weather system approaching,” she said.
On Saturday, winds will start to increase in speed for the South Island and the lower North Island.
“The real weather really comes in on Sunday, where we’re seeing that heavy rain ... arrive over the western part of the South Island and then continues to make its way up the island throughout Sunday.”
She said the rain would arrive in central New Zealand by the end of Sunday.
“Particularly for the Canterbury high country, we could see some possibly damaging winds. Those wind gusts could get up to about 140km/h,” Makgabutlane said.
MetService has issued warnings and watches that cover almost the entire South Island. Photo / MetService
Watches and warnings
An orange strong wind warning is in place for the Canterbury high country from 10pm on Saturday to 3pm on Sunday.
The same warning is in place for Fiordland from 6pm on Saturday to 6am on Sunday.
Heavy rain warnings and strong wind watches are in place for most of the South Island over the weekend.
Aucklanders are set to have a chilly start to Saturday, with a minimum temperature of 5C, but are likely to dodge any significant rain until next week.
