KEY POINTS:
Situation:
A cold front is moving up the North Island today after bringing a sudden change in temperatures to the South Island yesterday.
Dunedin, which had been in the mid 20s during the day dropped to 11 degrees by 6pm as that cold front came through.
Other centres had been around 30 and dropped to the mid teens by evening across Canterb
It was another hot and humid night overnight in the north too. I like to use the humidex which measure the air temperature with humidity to give you a 'feels like' temperature.
There are a number of online calculators, some produce crazy results and others are too conservative. The one I use said it felt like the late 20s in Auckland at 9pm last night...the air temperature was 22 degrees with over 90% humidity. Another bad nights sleep for me even with the fan on high!
In Napier and Hastings the actual air temperature was 26 degrees at 9pm with 24 in Whangarei. Summer has definitely arrived! But, there is a cooler south west change arriving today.
Thunderstorms?
New Zealand's government forecaster, MetService, has issued several Thunderstorm Watches for much of the country today. Both the South and North islands are possibly in for a rumble as the mixture of cold and hot air occurs amidst unstable weather conditions.
They point to northern New Zealand and eastern parts of the South Island as being the higher risk areas.
Here at the Weather Watch Centre we do have some conflicting weather data but we agree that conditions are certainly unsettled today, as we pointed out in our blog yesterday.
So, will thunderstorms affect you today? Keep track of the latest lightning strikes with our fantastic Lightning Detector link by clicking here (it's live and free!)
Wet Weather:
The North Island will have a period of rain today as that front moves through - heavier falls in western and southern areas, but even the dry eastern regions should get some rain. Could be a shower or two over the South Island too.
Hot Weather:
Northern and eastern parts of the North Island will again have hot weather - drier in the east and more humid in the north.
Cold change:
Ok maybe not cold but certainly cooler. Places like Christchurch, in the 30s yesterday, will be in the late teens today. In the North Island centres like Wanganui, 29 yesterday, 20 today. In Auckland that humidity will ease with the drier south west change late this afternoon...while the air temperature wont change a great deal on Sunday it should feel a little more comfortable.
Next Update: Monday morning.
- Philip Duncan
Photo: Kylie Harvey with her 4-year-old daughter, Georgia Harvey, struggle with their umbrellas as they walk along the grass beside the beach, on a blustery and rainy day in Whitianga. Photo / by Sarah Ivey