Wild weather: Wet weekend for many – but how’s Easter looking?

Wild weather and heavy rain is expected for many parts of New Zealand this afternoon but forecasters are hopeful, at this stage, for a dry Easter.

A front is currently bringing downfalls in the west of both islands and is expected to sweep across the country throughout today and into tonight as daylight saving ends.

It’s looking damp across the top of the North Island, Auckland, Waikato and Taranaki with a risk of possible thunderstorms.

There have also been heavy rain watches issued for parts of Tasman and Marlborough, as well as the ranges of Westland.

“There’s lots of active weather across the country,” said MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane.

By lunchtime today, between 50mm – 90mm of rain had fallen in the Tasman and Westland ranges.

Metservice says while there hasn’t been significant rainfall in Westland yet, its watch is scheduled to last until 11pm.

There are still thunderstorms possible for the West Coast while Taranaki’s heavy rain watch is predicted to last until 8pm.

The weather should, however, “generally improve” as the weekend goes on, Makgabutlane said, but there could be some more rain and showers in the west tomorrow morning.

For Tamaki Makaurau’s 1.7 million inhabitants tomorrow, there should be some low morning clouds and a few early showers before offering some fine spells with a westerly breeze.

It will be a similar story for much of Northland, the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Taranaki while the South Island can expect a few showers before a cool southerly blows through later in the day.

The skies should clear for much of the country as the nation goes back to work on Monday.

And as school children and the sweet-toothed populace look forward to the Easter holidays, the week should generally offer fine weather with high pressure coming over New Zealand.

Temperatures are expected to be a little cooler in the week though as autumn weather patterns start to take hold.

However, Makgabutlane urged Kiwis to keep an eye on the forecasts and prepare their Easter, and school holiday, plans accordingly.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) says although La Niña ended its three-year run last month, there could be a period of “particularly active” weather in mid-April.

The Crown Research Institute’s seasonal climate outlook for April to June says there is a real chance that El Niño conditions develop in winter, which could lead to drier and cooler weather than in recent years.

SUNDAY’S WEATHER IN THE MAIN CENTRES:

Auckland - 23C

Tauranga - 23C

Hamilton - 23C

Wellington - 20C

Christchurch - 22C

Dunedin – 18C