Bursts of rain will continue going into the weekend but the showery conditions are set to ease by Sunday afternoon. Photo/ Bevan Conley
Showers will continue into this weekend with the Whanganui Civil Defence team warning the wet, warm weather is unpredictable.
MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon said there was a strong wind watch for Whanganui on Friday morning.
Showers are continuing through Friday but will ease off this evening.
The temperature high on Friday for Whanganui was 25C: “That’s really warm for this time of year.”
Typically, the average maximum temperature for April in Whanganui is 19C.
The overnight low was 18C which meant humid sleeping conditions with the temperature hovering around 20C on Thursday night.
“It would have been a sticky night.”
The rain will continue on Saturday with a low pressure system crossing the North Island.
But Saturday’s showers will be less heavy and sustained, and will be more intermittent.
“We still aren’t out of the woods yet in terms of rainfall.
“There’ll still be some showers for a good chunk of the weekend.”
Whanganui Civil Defence manager Tim Crowe said the wet and warm weather was “a little bit unpredictable”.
“We’ve been watching it for the last three or four days quite closely.”
He said they expected rain in the upper catchment but nothing significant for the rivers.
“The current river levels are looking superb to take a bit of rain.”
A southerly change on Saturday will bring cooler temperatures.
“Those temperatures will drop off over the weekend.”
There will be a high of 20C on Saturday, dropping to 19C on Sunday.
It will be a lot cooler at night with overnight temperatures on Saturday peaking at 8C.
“Those cooler nights might come as a relief,” Wotherspoon said.
On Sunday morning the rain will clear with fine weather by the afternoon, which will be the brightest, sunniest patch across the weekend.
Crowe said the Civil Defence team was watching out for localised downpours in streams that could overwhelm the natural or urban drainage.
“If you’re in an area that is low-lying and you do have drains that clog up a bit, it wouldn’t hurt if you’ve got the time to make sure they’re free draining.”
Whanganui residents concerned about landslides or property damage from the weather can contact the Whanganui District Council on 06 349 0001 and ask to speak to the Civil Defence team.
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
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