Wellington’s wild weather: heavy surf triggers a Sunday beach warning

Forecasters are keeping a close eye on the wild waves around Wellington and warning of storm surges and big waves hitting the region.

Metservice meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said a pause in the southerly winds earlier Sunday appeared to be over.

The winds were picking up shortly after 10 a.m. and it was unlikely that they would abate before mid-afternoon.

“Right now we have a strong surf warning,” Makgabutlane said.

“For today, we expect the height of the waves to reach four to four and a half meters.”

The strong waves will be combined with high tides in the city and the south coast between 11:45 and 12:50.

The swells could be stronger than usual, increasing the chances of people in the water getting into trouble, Makgabutlane said.

“We urge people to be very careful with these heavy swells.”

The strong swell warning is valid until 7:00 p.m.

Sunday’s intense weather conditions come after weeks of gloomy weather in the capital.

Storm force winds of up to 130 km / h whipped through parts of Southland and Otago earlier this weekend before moving north.

MetService was expecting a cloudy Monday morning in Wellington, with some showers in the afternoon.

Southerners are likely to disappear in the morning, MetService said.

Many parts of eastern New Zealand will experience colder than average temperatures today.

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MetService said the rains would remain on the east flank of the North Island until it cleared later today.

The main low pressure system on Sunday morning was just south of the Chatham Islands and was moving east as the high pressure expanded from the west.

WeatherWatch forecasters said the capital’s cloudy weather would continue for several days into the next week.

“While this low may not bring gales to Wellington at first, it may leave a tail puncture with a gust of strong southerly winds to gales later this week and over the weekend,” added WeatherWatch.