Whanganui weather: A decent soaking of rain with gaps for school holiday fun

There will be showers in Whanganui this weekend but the district will escape the heavy rain forecast for parts of the North Island. Photo / NZME

Whanganui will get a dose of wet weather on both days of this weekend, but there will be a good chance of gaps of sunshine for the last weekend of the school holidays.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said the second half of Saturday through to Sunday afternoon would bring the best weather of the weekend.

“There’s still a good chance to get out and about - I know it’s the school holidays so parents might be grabbing for that opportunity to get the kids out,” he said.

Ferris said a high of 20C was forecast for Friday, which was above average for this time of year. The average daily high temperature for July is close to 13C.

“To go up to the 20C mark is quite a departure,” Lewis said.

“It’s definitely on the warmer side of things.”

Northeasterly light winds and evening showers are expected on Friday.

Heading into the weekend it looks to be a wet morning on Saturday, with a low of 9C, which was not too cold for this time of year.

“That rain on Saturday morning will be your best bet of seeing persistent rain,” Lewis said.

“There’s a boundary of rain moving across the area so it could actually be a decent soaking in the morning, but it’s not looking like huge amounts.

“The second half of the day will bring a good chance to get out and about, although there will be a bit of a westerly wind building.”

Saturday would have a high of 15C.

On Sunday, the wet weather will continue, with more showers forecast after midday, although the showers are expected to remain light.

Ferris said due to rain coming in from the north, it should not eventuate in heavy showers within Whanganui city.

Heavy rain watches are in place for northern regions of the North Island with 12 hours of rain anticipated to fall across the top of the country.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering general news stories. She began as a reporter in 2023.