Weather: Thunderstorms, heavy rain and wind watches for parts of country

Families heading to this afternoon’s Auckland Farmers Santa Parade are being encouraged to pack their wet weather gear, with incoming rain on the horizon.

MetService said today’s weather “will not be as pleasant as all the good children of Auckland deserve” as the City of Sails celebrates the festive season.

“We are looking at rain and showers on the near horizon,” the agency said.

“Thankfully, we are not expecting it to be a washout as the heaviest rain [and] showers will most likely be concentrated north of the city centre this afternoon.

“However, we would strongly recommend people come equipped with umbrellas and general wet weather gear, as this type of weather set-up commonly produces wily showers that are difficult to forecast.”

The Santa Parade starts at 1pm and finishes at 2.30pm.

It’s not just Aucklanders who need to keep an eye on the approaching weather though, with a number of severe weather watches and warnings in place for the country.

MetService said a pressure system moving across the South Island is causing heavy rain warnings in the Westland ranges, the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes, Kahurangi National Park and the southern regions of Fiordland.

The ranges of Westland and headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers are under a heavy rain watch from 1pm to 7pm.

In Westland, periods of heavy rain and possible thunderstorms are likely, and amounts may approach warning criteria.

The headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers can expect heavy rain with possible thunderstorms during the same time period.

Rainfall amounts are near the warning criteria within 15km east of the main divide.

Fiordland south of Dusky Sound is under a heavy rain watch for much of the day between 9am to 9pm.

The ranges of Tasman west of Motueka and Buller north of Karamea are under a heavy rain watch from noon until 8pm this evening.

“This is due to a lot of moist air brought by the low being wrung out like a sponge as it is forced over the ranges,” MetService said.

“We then have strong wind watches across large swathes of the eastern South Island and Wellington, again due to the low-pressure system passing over.”

The capital is under a strong wind watch from 3pm to 11pm, with northerly winds potentially approaching severe gale in exposed places and a moderate chance of being upgraded to a warning.

Canterbury High Country north of Twizel, and Canterbury Plains near the foothills has a strong wind watch in place from 2pm Sunday until 2am Monday.

“In addition, there is the risk of thunderstorms across the western parts of both islands as the warm air mass brought in by the low is not ‘stable’, ie it is primed to produce heavy showers given a small push.”

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.