KEY POINTS:
Subtropical Low
Well today's main weather feature isn't hard to miss - especially if you're in the top half of the North Island. Another sub-tropical low has developed and is slowly tracking down Northland's east coast today. It's likely to being rain to Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Central Plateau, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, East Cape, Gisborne and parts of Hawkes Bay. Heaviest rain should be between late Monday and noon Tuesday. But like all slow moving sub-tropical systems they can be unpredictable so I suggest you keep up to date with weatherwatch.co.nz incase things change. I'm not sure if MetService will issue any rain warnings for this one, but if they do I'd say Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and East Cape will be the most likely contenders.
For farmers in Gisborne I wish I could be more definite with rainfall predictions but this low is very slow moving and not, as I'm typing this, the most organised low I've ever seen. Rainfall figures may be anywhere between 15mm and 40mm depending on your location. I'd say the further north you are the wetter it will be...and the further west you go into the ranges.
Hot spots:
A very deep and large low is churning away in the Southern Ocean...it's already affecting New Zealand with a nor'wester (with temperatures on Sunday climbing to 30 degrees + in a number of centres in the South Island and close to 30 in the lower east North Island). The low is so large it's probably going to affect us all week - and that's a good thing for those wanting to make the most of being outside in the hot sun...at least, for those in the east. Temperatures for the next few days will be between 27 and 33 I'd say for most eastern areas south of Hawkes Bay.
New Year's Eve quick update
Still looking hot and dry for most places - windy in Wellington, and showery in Southland, West Coast and possibly Taranaki. Go to the Weather Watch Centre for a full New Year's Eve report - and of course I'll be updating you here in more detail during Wednesday's update.
Next Update: Tuesday morning...tracking the movement of the sub-tropical low.
