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
  • What the Actual
  • 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?  Sign in here

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

Premium
The Country

On The Up: Digger driver clears 37 tyres from a beach in one day

08 May 06:00 PM
The Country

Heavy rain, gales and thunderstorms to lash north, Banks Peninsula state of emergency extended

08 May 06:17 AM
The Country

'Four seasons in one day': Tahora Horse Sports crowns champions

08 May 02:00 AM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Premium
On The Up: Digger driver clears 37 tyres from a beach in one day

On The Up: Digger driver clears 37 tyres from a beach in one day

08 May 06:00 PM

Tim Dodge thought he'd never walk again. Now he's back, and he's determined to help.

Heavy rain, gales and thunderstorms to lash north, Banks Peninsula state of emergency extended

Heavy rain, gales and thunderstorms to lash north, Banks Peninsula state of emergency extended

08 May 06:17 AM
'Four seasons in one day': Tahora Horse Sports crowns champions

'Four seasons in one day': Tahora Horse Sports crowns champions

08 May 02:00 AM
The Country: Feds update with Wayne Langford

The Country: Feds update with Wayne Langford

08 May 01:46 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

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
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • 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