MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor said the last working day of the year for many today would bring a shift in the weather.
Cold southeasterly winds and wet conditions would set in over the eastern South Island as the low pressure sank southwards. The dry and sunnier spell of weather in the western and northern parts of the country would end with the arrival of a broad band of rain and northerly winds from the Tasman Sea,” O’Connor said.
“For anyone setting out for their Christmas break and travelling through the central and upper North Island this afternoon and evening, adverse conditions may cause delays and disruptions to travel plans.”
She said where northwesterly and southeasterly winds meet over the North Island was an area “to approach with caution” on Friday.
“The converging air enhances the risk of downpours of rain – and possibly even thunderstorms in these areas.”
Forecaster Niwa says over the next week, New Zealand is likely to have slow-moving areas of low pressure periodically moving through, with moderate to heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and elevated humidity levels.
O’Connor said rain or showers were expected “right across the country” at various points of the weekend and warned those waiting for a window of ideal travelling weather to summer hotspots would likely be waiting until at least Monday.
She said the best weather in the lead-up to Christmas Day looked to be the two days preceding the holiday, with sunny blue skies and dry days set for most parts of the country on Monday and Tuesday.
“While there is still almost a week to go to the big day itself, Santa has been advised to pack his wet weather suit for the big journey south, with the outlook indicating a wet Christmas Day for the west of the South Island and potentially the western North Island also.”
-Additional reporting by NZ Herald
