‘Spring on the horizon’: Whanganui gets clear skies ahead of weekend showers

Whanganui can expect nice weather for the first half of the final week of winter. Photo / NZME

Whanganui has “spring on the horizon” early this week with clear skies and warm days forecast before a weather system brings showers and westerly winds.

MetService meteorologist Silvia Martino said Whanganui was forecast to be the “best place to be” during the first half of the week.

“It’s starting out pretty nice. Basically, what you’re seeing right now is what you’re getting for the first few days of the week – clear skies, you might get a bit of morning fog around the place, but pretty similar conditions for the next couple of days,” she said.

The winds were expected to be calm northerlies during this period.

“Later on in the week, we have a front that moves up the country and does eventually get to Whanganui but at the moment that’s looking like the latter half of Thursday and into Friday,” Martino said.

The front was forecast to bring showers and reasonably strong winds to Whanganui as the winds shifted to become westerlies.

“The winds will be nothing too dramatic but, after the nice, calm days we’re having earlier in the week, they will probably be more noticeable.”

The showery conditions would continue into the weekend but Martino expected there would be gaps in the wet weather, allowing people to get out and about.

Unlike other areas of the country, there was currently no indication that the winds or rain would reach warning levels in Whanganui.

Tuesday and Wednesday were forecast for a high of 18C and a low of 4C.

The maximums would remain in the high teens, but the nights were anticipated to become warmer with lows of 9-10C later in the week.

Thursday’s high was forecast to be 19C which, if accurate, would be 4C warmer than average for August.

Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.