MetService Weather National: 4th - 6th February 2020
The South Island is to have a slight reprieve from the huge downpours which today caused the Mataura River to burst through stop banks and flood the small town of Gore.
The MetService says all areas which have borne the brunt of the torrential rain - where Fiordland got a month's worth of rain over two days - will begin to see patches of blue sky for the rest of the week.
However, a showers will still litter a few areas as temperatures also plunge as a southwesterly takes hold.
The front won't have enough punch to carry it through to the many dry regions of the North Island though. However, there will be a dip in temperatures bringing which in some centres have broken records.
Gisborne, Whangarei, Whanganui and Palmerston North have all smashed temperature records. Whangarei Airport was nearly 2C hotter, up to 33.5C yesterday compared to 31.8C in February 2017.
The Warehouse has reported fans flying off the shelves in its stores around the country due to the heat.
Carrie Fairley, general manager of home at The Warehouse, said they had seen a spike in demand this week.
The grass is brown in many parts of the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. These cows are pictured on a rural property near Tauranga on Monday. Photo / Andrew Warner
"Our customers have definitely been feeling the warmer weather and been snapping up a fan to keep themselves cool. We have seen a spike in the demand for fans this week, and they are also amongst our top searched for items on The Warehouse website.
"We still have good stock levels and are expecting them to remain popular with the warmer weather continuing over the long weekend."
Record-breaking heat was experienced in Whangarei and Palmerston North today, with Auckland recording its 4th equal...
MetService duty meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree said there was a front moving up the country today, bringing with it cool southerlies.
It was already hitting Wellington and was due to make its way up the North Island throughout the day.
In flood-stricken Southland, Otago and Fiordland the weather is set to clear today, with just a few showers and areas of cloud to linger in central parts.
"The cooler temperatures will move across the North Island but there's no rain expected to be moving across, maybe just a few showers along the east."
Because of how the flow comes on to Southland it's exposed to the full force of the rain, especially in Fiordland and doesn't usually tend to make it across the Alps.
Christchurch and Canterbury, as well as many centres in the North Island, got a small amount of rain overnight but nothing significant.
Reprieve from the sticky and sleepless nights is here.
Cooler air and a lighter southwest flow has moved across the country this morning to replace the heat. Temperatures will be a little more modest today, with much of the South Island
set to stay under 20C. For more details head to http://bit.ly/metservicenz ^Tahlia
"Bay of Plenty is approaching the 30s but even so most of the country will have that cool southwest flow, especially across the South Island. They're looking to have the southerlies today so a lot of places are barely going to get up to 20 [degrees].
"In the North Island it's mid 20s."
All of the muggy air which had been lingering around the North Island had been shifted by the cool southwest flow.
Tomorrow, Waitangi Day, a ridge is settling over the country which will mean temperatures similar to today, with fine sunny weather and light southwesterlies.
In the south, there could be a few showers in the west.
Menawhile, farmers in Waikaka, near Gore, race to rescue bales of hay during the monster storm which has today seen the banks of the Mataura River breach and flood Gore. Photo / File
"There's a weak front that moves onto the south this evening but it's not much. For the most part it's a ridge over the country so yeah, that's pretty fine weather," Crabtree said.
As for Friday and the weekend, a ridge continues to build over the country in the North Island but another front will bring a strong southwest change behind it, affecting South Islanders and possibly Wellingtonians, but then it will ease and be mostly fine on Sunday.
The rest of the North Island isn't expected to see any of the forecast rain.
As for the contrasting weather both islands had had lately, the North Island's warm temperatures were exacerbated by the dry conditions which many areas were experiencing.
"The soil is so dry it can be very warm and when the ground gets warm it keeps the air warm."
