Weather: Auckland Anniversary Weekend to see showers across country, thunder possible on Sunday

Those escaping Auckland for the city’s long anniversary weekend won’t be getting away from the rain with showers forecast for holiday hotspots well into next week.

A front was tipped to push rain up the country today, seeing MetService issue a tranche of heavy rain warnings in the South Island and a forecast for showers in the North Island from the afternoon.

Then, tomorrow evening, a change in wind direction was expected to dump a deluge of water on the North Island from the Tasman Sea.

MetService forecasted Saturday would see cloud increasing in the morning with light rain rolling in from the afternoon. Warm and humid northwesterly winds were expected with a high of 25C and an overnight low of 20C.

Thunderstorms were forecasted for Sunday, and showers would become more widespread and heavy later in the evening. The wind should turn to fresh southwesterly, but the day could reach 27C and dip to 18C overnight.

Monday should be a tad cooler in the Super City, reaching 25C with a partly cloudy day and some isolated showers clearing in the evening. MetService forecast a low of 17C.

Holiday hotspot forecasts

Of the typical holiday hotspots Aucklanders visit, those in Northland should see the best start with showers not setting in until Sunday, while in the Coromandel, rain could well be falling throughout Saturday.

MetService said Kaitaia would reach 24C on Saturday with cloud increasing throughout the day and a chance of a shower from the evening, dipping to 20C overnight. Sunday could get to 25C with thunderstorms possible there, too, before a cooler 23C Monday with showers until the evening.

Have a long weekend ahead?

You'll need to pick and choose your spots if you're after dry weather.

While showers are possible for the North Island Saturday, we'll need to keep an eye 👀 on Sunday, especially later in day, for heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/yjg86xpBCR

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) January 26, 2024

Whangārei had a similar outlook, although Saturday would be hotter than elsewhere, hitting 28C before dropping to 20C overnight.

In the Coromandel, meanwhile, Saturday should see showers develop in the afternoon in Thames and Whitianga, with both centres likely to see a 25C high and a 20C low.

They should see 26C on Sunday when rain was likely to be heavy and thundery. Thames would dip to 15C overnight before both centres hit 25C again on Monday. Rain would continue and the overnight low in Thames could drop to 14C.

While it may not rain long, it will rain hard tonight for parts of the South Island.

This is a rolling 3 hour rainfall forecast...

...and a LOT of rain is forecast to fall in short time, with some areas seeing 100-150 mm in 3⃣ hours.

This will mean a risk of flooding for some. pic.twitter.com/qD4i6FqnUy

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) January 26, 2024

Further south, Westland was expected to see 150mm to 200mm of rain in the ranges between 9pm yesterday and 8am today.

Power cuts, property damage and fallen trees were possible with a “short but intense” period of wind expected from Hokitika to Milford Sound, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) said.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.