Weather: Hot, humid nights for North Island, Auckland to hit 28C for days

There’s no immediate respite from unpleasantly high levels of humidity, with moist tropical air expected to cloak the country for days on end.

MetService says the mass of warm air is forecast to lie over central New Zealand, bringing rain or showers to central and northern regions.

Auckland temperatures will remain at a sticky 27C and 28C this week, with overnight temperatures not expected to fall below 20C.

MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor says the humidity overnight will “disrupt sleep” for most people.

“People will start to feel the humidity overnight and it will likely cause a disruption to their sleep for the rest of the week.”

Night-time temperatures in the north were not expected to fall any lower than 18C.

💧 New Zealand's weather will be linked to the tropics this week, as moist air (🟣) routinely approaches the country from the north...

High humidity will be noticeable in the northern North Island all week, becoming more prominent later in the week elsewhere 🥵 pic.twitter.com/S8AUKUHYZw

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) January 15, 2024

The rain that broke the golden run of weather in the north was now clearing but Northland and East Cape could expect some downpours today, said O’Connor.

“There is a possibility of some heavier rain and thunderstorms in western and central Northland this afternoon and evening.”

Despite a cool start to the day, the South Island could expect a sunny Tuesday.

Twizel woke to a bone-chilling 1.7C and Alexandra was 3.4C.

However, temperatures were expected to rise across the day with Queenstown and Alexandra soaring to 24C by later this afternoon.

Central New Zealand could expect a return of rainy conditions by the end of the week.

On-and-off showers will cover parts of the country this week.

This morning, a heavy rain watch was issued for Westland to Tasman from Thursday, with periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms lasting up to 22 hours in some affected regions.

O’Connor said Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast should also plan for wet weather in the second half of the week.

O’Connor said after a week of wet and tropical conditions, the country was expected to head into a sunnier weekend.