Last night, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew into the eye of Hurricane Erin—and captured imagery of the breathtaking stadium effect.
Video / Hurricane Hunters
New Zealand faces a wild start to the week, with snow forecast to hit across the South Island, while Auckland faces the threat of thunderstorms tomorrow.
MetService forecaster Michael Pauley told the Herald a front would be moving onto the south of the South Island this evening.
“From late tonight,we’re expecting snow up to 600m, with road snowfall warnings coming into force tomorrow,” he said.
⛷️❄️ Dust off those skis… SNOW is on the way!
🌨️ Snow is expected across many South Island areas above ~200m on Monday & Tuesday. 🌨️ The central North Island high country could also see snow above ~900m.
MetService has issued warnings for Crown Range Rd and Milford Rd (SH94) from early tomorrow morning until about 1pm, with snow expected to fall between 600 and 800m.
A road snowfall warning is also expected to come into force for Lindis Pass (SH8) from early afternoon until late evening, with snow expected to affect the road above 800m.
On Porters Pass (SH73), snow is expected to fall to 600m from late Monday evening until early Tuesday morning.
However, Pauley said, from tomorrow evening, showers could bring the snow down to 400-500m in the far south and maybe 600-700m in Canterbury.
“Snow could be affecting South Island areas above 200m on Tuesday,” he said.
Snow is forecast to fall across the South Island and Mackenzie District early next week. 17 August 2025. New Zealand Herald photograph by NZ Herald
“There is also a chance the Central Plateau in the North Island could be affected by snow above 900m.”
Pauley said an unstable low-pressure system could bring the chance of “squally” thunderstorms tomorrow.
“We have a risk of thunderstorms for the likes of Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, stretching all the way down the west coast of the North Island to Taranaki,” he said.
“With that, we’re going to be seeing some strong wind gusts of 80-100km/h, some small hail and the heavy falls we see with thunderstorms.”
David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.
