In places such as Alexandra, temperature highs will literally halve over 24 hours. Photo / Warren Buckland
In places such as Alexandra, temperature highs will literally halve over 24 hours. Photo / Warren Buckland
MetService is warning South Island residents to expect heavy rain in the coming 24 hours with weather alerts now in place.
Weather forecasters have confirmed a frontal system currently over the Tasman Sea is expected to move on to the far South Island around midday, before moving north.
The result will be a wintry blast in places like Alexandra where the temperature will halve over the span of 24 hours.
A heavy rain watch has been issued for Southland, Fiordland, Otago, Canterbury south and the parts of the Westland ranges with the rain starting mid-afternoon today.
Heavy rain watches have been confirmed by MetService. Photo / MetService
MetService says the front will move northwards over southern and central New Zealand by midnight Wednesday.
It’s a weather event preceded by a period of northwesterly rain in the west of the South Island, while a period of southerly rain follows the front in the eastern regions.
Southland and Fiordland are the first to experience the front, with watches in place for 12 hours from 3pm today.
The forecast for both is a period of rain, with some heavy falls possible in Southland. There’s a possibility the rainfall might reach warning criteria in both regions.
By 4pm, Otago will be expected to encounter the same period of rainfall - followed by the ranges of Westland south of Otira around 5pm today.
Canterbury districts south of the Rakaia River will be exposed to periods of rain from 2am Wednesday, lasting the bulk of the day.
MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker told the Otago Daily Times “the parched south and east of the South Island will be in for some relief”, with some locations forecast to see 40mm of rain in 24 hours.
The forecast for both is a period of rain, with some heavy falls possible in Southland. Photo / Warren Buckland
“That’s as much rainfall as parts of inland Otago have had all year,” he said.
Plenty of places in Otago and Canterbury will see a fall of 10C from Tuesday to Wednesday, while a significant drop will be in Alexandra.
Alexandra, less than 200km from Dunedin is in for a hot Tuesday with temperature highs reaching 30C, yet will radically drop the following day to a high of only 15C.
If the mercury hits no higher than 15.7C, MetService revealed it will be the coldest daily maximum temperature this summer so far.
Coupled with the cold temperatures, Bakker said the forecast rain may fall as snow, dusting the peaks of the ranges down to 1000m.
