Wet, windy weekend for Whanganui as winter draws to end

MetService forecasts a wet, windy, warm weekend for Whanganui's last few days of winter. Photo / NZME

A weekend of showers and strong northerly winds lies ahead for Whanganui before meteorological spring begins on Monday.

A pattern of on-and-off wind and showers would start on Friday morning, MetService meteorologist Kgolofelo Dube said.

“Some strong winds will set in probably sometime in the morning ... about 40km/h on and off throughout the morning and into the afternoon,“ she said.

”Showers should also come through from the morning, on and off, until late in the day.“

The temperature on Friday is likely to reach a low of 8C and a high of 16C.

Dube expected the wind would ease in the late afternoon and into the evening.

The strong winds and showers are expected to hold off for longer on Saturday.

“Going into Saturday, the winds should start off relatively moderate and become strong during the day, and you will have some showers in the afternoon and early evening,“ Dube said.

Saturday’s temperatures are forecast to be a low of 10C and a high of 17C, dropping slightly to a low of 8C and a high of 15C on Sunday.

The weather conditions are expected to be “quite similar” on Sunday, with rain developing around midday and easing towards the evening.

Dube said despite the winds being strong, they should not reach the level of a watch or warning, which requires widespread, severe gales with a minimum average speed of 90km/h or frequent gusts exceeding 110km/h.

Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.