Whanganui weather: Warm start to the week transitions to wind and cool air as May begins

Whanganui is set for a mixture of wind, rain, sun and cool conditions this week. Photo / Lynne Douglas

People in Whanganui are advised to “keep a close eye on the forecast” this week, with MetService predicting a mixed bag of weather.

MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said the transition into May would be a “whirlwind” for Whanganui.

“It’s not too bad to start off with, but from midweek it takes a bit of a turn with much wetter, cooler and windier conditions expected,” Makgabutlane said.

“It is one of those weeks where it would be a good idea to keep a close eye on the forecast – the location and intensity of the expected weather will be closely tied to where the weather system is formed," she said.

Until Wednesday, Whanganui is expected to be warm with highs of 23C on Monday and 24C on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“There’s quite a few warm places in the country and it looks like Whanganui is one of them,” Makgabutlane said.

Tuesday would be similar to Monday with cloud and a chance of showers, especially for more inland places.

Wednesday was expected to be the turning point of the week with warm mornings followed by southeasterly winds in the afternoon in coastal areas.

Makgabutlane said the day would be split in two.

“Temperatures look to remain warm in the mid-20s; however, we could see, from the afternoon onwards, a little bit of rain starting to roll through,” she said.

“The second half of the day is a little different from the first half.”

She said Thursday was likely to “continue in a wet fashion” with southeasterly windy conditions and a high of 18C.

Friday was likely to be even cooler with a high of 16C and a low of 10C, in addition to morning rain along with the same southerly wind blowing through.

Makgabutlane said the overnight temperatures across the working week were normal, if not slightly above normal, for this time of year with an average of 11.8C.