The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Weekend of sunny weather expected before possible impact of Cyclone Gita

Alice Peacock
By Alice Peacock
Reporter·NZ Herald·
15 Feb, 2018 07:10 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

In the latest episode of what's been a year of extreme weather, it appears summer is back.

Most of the country is in for a weekend of sunshine and scorching temperatures - but the good weather probably won't stick around.

MetService meteorologist Ravi Kandula said the forecast was fine for the North Island over the weekend, with sunshine expected for much of Friday and Saturday.

"We're expecting that accumulations will only be significant rain-wise in Fiordland and Westland for the next few days," Kandula said.

"Essentially, most of the country will be pretty good."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Temperatures would hover around the mid 20's for most of the Island, peaking in the high 20s.

The South Island could expect some cooler temperatures but the difference was "nothing too drastic", Kandula said.

The weather looked set to take a turn for the worse early next week, with showers becoming heavy and temperatures dropping to the low 20s.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A drop in temperatures would be more dramatic as you headed down the country, with temperatures dropping as low as 17C in spots like Wellington and Christchurch.

MetService said the impact Cyclone Gita would have on New Zealand was too far ahead to accurately forecast.

"Things are uncertain again with regards to the approach of that ex-tropical cyclone... It really depends on how that system tracks over the next few days," Kandula said.

"If you have a look at the severe weather outlook that is on Metservice that gives you an idea of the range of areas that can expect something. It's a very broad area that is hopefully going to become more conducive as days progress."

Be prepared.
Tropical Cyclone Gita Update 15th Feb 2018. Impacts expected in NZ early next week. More information can be found at https://t.co/ZOunm5KuBf. ^Lisa pic.twitter.com/TrTalpzoKb

— MetService (@MetService) February 15, 2018

The tropical cyclone swept over Fiji yesterday, destroying a handful of buildings but leaving no reported injuries or fatalities in its wake.

Earlier this week the storm battered Tonga, where residents weren't as lucky.

Unconfirmed reports said one person had died and several others were injured when winds of up to 195km/h hit the small island nation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand's Air Force Hercules has been approved to fly to Tonga to help.

Statistics around Auckland's rainfall over the start of the year showed the region had been drenched with more than one-third of the normal annual rainfall, just two weeks into February.

The upper North Island was expected to get another dousing of rain over the start of March.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

The Country: Is it too early for a spring weather forecast?

The Country

Pāmu forecasts record profit in major turnaround

The Country

'Significant change': NZ braces for wild weather's return


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

The Country: Is it too early for a spring weather forecast?
The Country

The Country: Is it too early for a spring weather forecast?

C Brandolino, S Duncan, S Loe, Barry Soper, R Shearer, E Templeton, M Miller, H McKay.

25 Jul 02:08 AM
Pāmu forecasts record profit in major turnaround
The Country

Pāmu forecasts record profit in major turnaround

24 Jul 09:53 PM
'Significant change': NZ braces for wild weather's return
The Country

'Significant change': NZ braces for wild weather's return

24 Jul 07:29 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP