‘Glimmer of hope’: December forecast looking up, but not before more rain

After a week of tumultuous weather, the clouds are forecast to part as Aotearoa heads into December with warmer temperatures and less rain.

But for at least the next few days, the weather will be damp and possibly thunder, say Niwa and MetService.

“Who’s ready for this unsettled weather to end? Well, Mother Nature isn’t,” Niwa said on its social media sites.

“While there will be pockets that have dry weather, large parts of the country will likely have rain in the forecast for the next several days.”

Heavy downpours overnight resulted in various call-outs to weather-related incidents in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions, but today just two weather watches remain for heavy rain – one for the Tararua Ranges and the other in Westland.

🟡 Heavy Rain Watches Issued 🟡

We've issued two Heavy Rain Watches, one for the Tararua Ranges from 9am Thursday - 3am Friday, and one for the ranges of Westland south of Hokitika from 9am to 11am Thursday.

More info at https://t.co/qHyE5zzql5 pic.twitter.com/sRs1gUjjdE

— MetService (@MetService) November 23, 2022

Both of these are set to expire before the weekend – but rain will continue across most of the country including the Chatham Islands.

Although much of the country will see patches of rain over the coming days, as New Zealand steps into December the outlook is more settled.

Niwa Weather said on social media the forecast maps show “a glimmer of hope” for more settled weather toward the beginning of December.

“It’s far out, but the forecast maps have a glimmer of hope for more settled weather toward the beginning of December,” the site said

High pressure, could it be⁉️

It's far out, but the forecast maps have a glimmer of hope for more settled weather (🔴) toward the beginning of December.

The active phase of the Madden-Julian Oscillation in the West Pacific has spelled an unsettled & wet November in New Zealand. pic.twitter.com/5LeMHyjTiV

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) November 23, 2022

“The active phase of the Madden-Julian Oscillation in the West Pacific has spelled an unsettled & wet November in New Zealand.”