Whanganui weather: Sunny weekend forecast before things take a turn for the wetter

A sunny and calm weekend is expected for Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui will enjoy a sunny weekend, before rain arrives next week.

MetService meteorologist John Law said a high-pressure system would be in place over the North Island, which would lead to mostly sunny skies and settled weather for Saturday and Sunday.

“I think you’re in a good spot it looks like a pretty decent one for the weekend,” Law said.

The clear skies would come with temperatures dropping off quickly overnight, particularly inland, with a low of 5C expected for Friday night and Saturday morning.

“If you’re out in the early hours of the morning or you’re having a barbecue, once that sun sets the temperature will drop away pretty quickly.”

After the chilly start, conditions would warm up to a high of 18C on Saturday.

Sunday would be much of the same throughout most of the day, with the chance of some cloud cover arriving in the evening as a wet weather front makes its way up from the South Island.

“We might find it clouds up a little bit and for the wind to pick up as we head through Sunday, but even Sunday afternoon could be a decent day,” Law said.

Morning temperatures wouldn’t be as cold as on Saturday and daytime highs were expected to be slightly warmer at 19-20C.

Going into the working week, Monday would start fine but as the wet front continued to move its way up the country, more cloud was expected for the region, with westerly winds developing towards the end of the day.

Conditions would deteriorate further as the week rolled into Tuesday, with the high pressure being pushed away by a wet weather front, leading to rainier conditions.

However, while Tuesday would bring rain, it would also bring warmer temperatures, with daytime highs of 20-21C and overnight lows of 12-13C.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.