Weather: What’s in store for Whanganui and Mt Ruapehu this weekend?

Whanganui is in for a weekend of transition between weather systems. Photo / NZME

The weather in Whanganui this weekend will act as a bridge between two very different weeks, while good conditions are forecast for Mt Ruapehu as the Tūroa skifield has its first full-mountain weekend of the season.

Whanganui had clear skies, calm winds and lows of 1C this week.

“Currently we’ve got a nice broad ridge of high pressure sitting over the country, so while Whanganui’s getting some nice weather, the whole country is getting some nice weather,” MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden said.

“It’s been pretty chilly everywhere, including Whanganui, this week but we are expecting a general trend for things to heat up.”

The clear skies will continue through Friday and into Saturday. As the high-pressure ridge moves away, some areas of cloud might move in.

“That ridge on Saturday starts to move eastward and you might get some cloudy periods through Saturday, and Sunday as well, but generally speaking, things will be pretty nice overall for the weekend.”

Moving into Monday, cloudy conditions will build, with possible wet weather on Tuesday.

The cloudy and wet conditions will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, moving from a low of 2C and high of 18C on Saturday, a low of 5C and high of 18C on Sunday, up to a low of 10C and high of 19C early next week.

“As the weekend progresses through the weekend and into Monday and Tuesday, things will heat up,” Lynden said.

The wind will stay calm through Friday and Saturday but could pick up early next week.

Tūroa's High Noon Express chairlift is due to open on Saturday, offering skiers a full-mountain experience.

The weather for Mt Ruapehu looks fine for Tūroa Ski Field’s first full-mountain weekend of the season as the High Noon Express opens, despite a slight chance of cloud affecting visibility for the lower fields, and some winds.

“There’ll probably be a bit of cloud sticking about, but it will probably be lower than the ski fields,” Lynden said.

“Up the top of Ruapehu, you’ll likely see fine conditions throughout the weekend. However, winds are also picking up through the weekend.”

Although the winds are gradually building, Lynden doesn’t think they will be strong enough to prevent skiing.

According to Pure Tūroa, the lower snow base is currently 40cm, and the upper snow base 55cm.

There is no more snowfall forecast for this weekend but, as the rain moves into Whanganui on Tuesday, Ruapehu will also experience some wet weather, likely resulting in more snowfall.

Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.