Whanganui weather: What to expect this week

Whanganui's weather is bringing a week of two halves - beginning with sunshine and fine days, but with conditions worsening from Wednesday. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui’s spell of fine, sunny weather will be shattered by a stormy front moving across the country on Wednesday.

MetService meteorologist John Law said it will be a week of two halves for Whanganui.

Monday and Tuesday would bring clear, bright conditions.

“They’re definitely the days to get outside this week.”

But on Wednesday, a front moving across the west of New Zealand is going to bring worsening conditions.

“There will be heavy rain.”

There is heavy rainfall forecast for Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

Wetter conditions will be concentrated in the central high country and Taranaki.

Law said Whanganui should be more protected by the hills to the north of the city.

But people will feel the icy bite of some strong winds in the second half of the week.

“For places like Whanganui, one of the bigger impacts will be those strong northerly winds.”

Across the whole week, temperatures will be warm, especially at night.

The minimum temperature for Wednesday night into Thursday will be 17C.

“That’s pretty warm for this time of the year.

“The best and the brightest days are going to happen in the first half of the week.”

For people heading to places such as Taupō during the weekend, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the unfolding forecast due to expected stormy conditions, said Law.

Niwa says it was the coldest March since 2012

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research’s (Niwa) March climate summary revealed this year, New Zealand had its coldest March in 12 years.

Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said for Whanganui, it was the coldest March since 2012.

The mean temperature in Whanganui in March was 16C.

Noll said in the past years, March has typically been “very warm”, and those across the region would have felt it.

There were less tropical air masses coming through and more southwesterly air flows visiting New Zealand over the past month.

But Noll said that was an exception to the rule over the last decade.

“This is more likely to be a short-term blip rather than a longer-term trend.”

For Whanganui, the temperature was about 1C cooler than the long-term average, and the rainfall was in the near-normal range.

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