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Wild early spring weather is hitting the country, gales are expected for much of the week in many areas, stormy seas are making massive waves, and snow is coming.
“Several fronts are expected to move up in the country in the next few days. The weather is likely to change between rainy, dry, hot and cold, but the wind will be persistent, ”said MetService meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree.
High wind advisories and northwestern gale warnings were set in most regions south of the central North Island and were expected to extend throughout the week.
Simon O’Connor / Stuff
Rough seas and big waves are expected across much of the west coast and in Cook Strait (file photo).
A brief wave of cold southwesterly winds was expected to bring snow to the South Island on Tuesday. Alpine roads and passes could expect snow to accumulate, as well as higher parts of Southland, Otago and the Canterbury High Country, Crabtree said.
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While most of the country could expect turbulent weather through Friday, a high pressure ridge was set to ease westerly winds over the top of the North Island starting Wednesday.
Gusts are forecast to reach 130km / h in the Canterbury High Country through Tuesday night. Gusts of up to 120km / h are expected in Wellington, Wairarapa and south Hawke’s Bay until early Wednesday morning. In Tongariro and Taihape National Park, gusts of up to 120 km / h are forecast for Tuesday night.
DWAYNE DUNN / SUPPLIED
Timaru resident Dwayne Dunn filmed these images of snow falling in Winchester around 7 a.m. on September 1, 2020.
Many other areas south of the central North Island have the potential for winds to approach strong gales in exposed locations sometime through early Wednesday morning. They include Dunedin, Christchurch, and Gisborne.
MetService also shows a good chance that severe gales will continue through Wednesday and Thursday across much of the east and south of the South Island and for the south and east of the North Island. Much of the west of the South Island is at risk of heavy rains at the same time.
By Monday night, some big waves were already hitting the southwest of the South Island, with the biggest waves expected for Wednesday night. By then, the significant wave height in the southwestern corner of the South Island is expected to exceed 8 meters in height.
Wave heights decrease to the north, but are still expected to reach 4 m in the west north of Taranaki. Wave height in Cook Strait is expected to peak Tuesday morning, exceeding 3m.
Significant wave height is the average of the height of the largest third of the waves, with the height of the largest waves possibly up to 50% higher.
MetService has also issued a current storm warning for the bottom of the North Island, including the Cook Strait and the east coast to Castlepoint. Most of the coast of the South Island is covered by storm warnings, as is the west of the North Island south of Taranaki and the east south of East Cape.
There is a strong wind advisory for Auckland, with a likelihood of northwest wind gusts around 65km / h in the Hauraki Gulf around noon on Tuesday.
Snow is forecast to reach 500m in the lower parts of the South Island and 600m in Canterbury.
MetService warns that up to 18 inches of snow could accumulate in the Milford Road tunnel from midnight Monday to early Wednesday, with up to 4 inches near the top of Crown Range Road through 9 p.m. Tuesday, and up to 8 cm near the top of Lindis Pass from Tuesday 2 am to 10 pm
Up to 10cm could be accumulated at Arthur’s Pass near the summit in the 24 hours starting at 8am Tuesday, with up to 5cm possible near the top of Lewis Pass from Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday morning.
