Cold blast for South Island, ferries cancelled
Periods of heavy snow down to 800 metres is forecast for the Canterbury High Country, south of the Rangitata River, from 6pm today until 10am tomorrow. Snowfall amounts may approach warning criteria.
The snow would be welcome news for ski fields, MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said.
"At this early stage, I'm sure we'll definitely take any snow that we can get. However, it is quite unseasonal, so in terms of the ski fields, we'll definitely be crossing our fingers for more snowfall as the season goes on.
"For places like Canterbury, it is looking like quite a long-lived wet weather story."
MetService said the prolonged rain came after a wet start to the year, and warned it could lead to rapidly rising rivers, surface flooding and difficult driving conditions.
Christchurch City Council contractors had been preparing ahead of the downpour, clearing gutters, sumps, stormwater grates and beach outfalls.
The heaviest rainfall was expected in the western Port Hills and the southern part of Banks Peninsula, the council said.
"It's a good idea to clear your rain guttering and drains and if you know there are leaves blocking sumps or drains by your property, it would help us if you could remove them, and put them in your green wheelie bin.
"Our stormwater network is designed to cope with heavy rain and our road network is also part of our stormwater network playing an important role during wet weather events. In most parts of the city our roads have been designed as secondary flow paths for stormwater so in heavy rain its normal to see some flooding on our roads."
The council was also managing water levels in the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River.
"Residents along the upper and mid-reaches of the river can expect fluctuations of water levels at any time before, during and after the rainfall event, even during periods of dry weather. This is to reduce peak flood levels during the rainfall event by maximising the use of the storage volume in the basins," the council said.
Makgabutlane said by the weekend, conditions should start clearing up.
"It is expected to be at least a couple of days. And so today, Wednesday, we're expecting everything to really start kicking off. Tomorrow, Thursday, will be another day to keep a close eye on, as well as Friday.
"But it does look like as we head into the weekend, most of the country should be rid of that weather and by Sunday, things are looking pretty good across the country."
As a rule of thumb, big wind 🌬️ = big waves 🌊.Significant wave heights are forecast to reach 7-10 meters offshore.Combined with a King Tide, the risk for coastal erosion & possible flooding is elevated.
Stay up-to-date with marine forecasts & warnings from @MetService. pic.twitter.com/7UCAE28TIN — NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) April 29, 2025 Ferries cancelled
Strong wind watches have been issued for the Buller, Grey, Westland and Nelson Lakes districts, the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island and and Wellington, along the south coast, including Wairarapa north of Castlepoint, in the North Island.
Southeast winds may approach severe gale in exposed places.
MetService has issued heavy swell warnings for the 33-hour period between midday tomorrow until 9pm on Friday.
Waves of 6 metres were forecast off Wellington - Cape Terawhiti to Turakirae Head from 3pm tomorrow until noon on Friday, while swells rising to 7 metres were expected off Wairarapa - Turakirae Head from midday tomorrow until 9pm on Friday.
"This weather system that's bringing all of this weather that we're expecting is also going to be generating some large swells, but also the wind's generating some large waves on top of that and causing all sorts of problems and disruptions," Makgabutlane told RNZ's Morning Report programme.
Interislander said it had cancelled crossings from 8.30pm today 2.30am on Friday, and there would be extra sailings put on over the weekend to accommodate passengers. More cancellations were likely on Friday if conditions did not improve.
Bluebridge was cancelling sailings from 1.30pm today and all of tomorrow. Home Tunnel closures
The Homer Tunnel on the Milford Road (SH94) in Southland is closing from 6.30pm to 3am for maintenance works from today until May 2, then from May 3-23 from 6pm until 3am.
"No public access during these closures due to heavy equipment operating in tunnel."
- Additional reporting APL
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Weather: North Island rocked by thunderstorm, rain expected to set in
Much of the upper North Island have been rocked by thunderstorms overnight, with further thunderstorms forecasted. Over 3000 lightning strikes were recorded on Monday night, with MetService forecasting possible thunderstorms from Tuesday morning through to Wednesday. Kaipara Harbour was hit most, with Auckland also berated by loud bangs throughout the early morning hours on Monday. Residents in Helensville also reported hail. MetService's head of weather news Heather Keats said the loud thunder even gave her moment for pause. "It scared the bejesus out of me," she told Morning Report. "I don't think many people in Auckland would have slept through their alarm this morning, that's for sure. "There's quite a few of those little sparks up over Auckland at the moment. These squally thunderstorms are going to continue to kind of roll over the city like they did last night." Keats said the majority of lightning strikes were over central Kaipara Harbour, but a few were seen in the Auckland region too. Much of Auckland was hit by rolling thunderstorms this morning. Photo: RNZ / Jeremy Parkinson A couple of storms have bubbled up over the city but will slowly head out offshore and clear in Auckland and the Upper North Island throughout the morning, she said. "It's been a pretty unstable couple of days with one weather system kind of pushing in that westerly flow over the Upper North but we still have that biting southerly coming up from the south that's been responsible for the cold temperatures and the snow," she said. Keats advised morning commuters and parents dropping off their children at school to keep an eye on the rain radar, with strong winds and heavy rain expected until about 9am. MetService meteorologist Devlin Linden said cooler temperatures in the northern region overnight played a part. "Thunderstorms are all about buoyancy, so to speak - so the lift of air, and it creates kind of unstable conditions and that's when we start getting the lightning strikes and thunderstorms." Linden said the weather should ease over the morning. "At the moment it's just a morning risk as we head into the afternoon, and towards midday things should clear off and the risk is minimal from there on. He said hail had also been recorded, along with about 13mm of rain in parts of Auckland. MetService said there would not be "much of a breather" though before more wet weather "makes its way onto the north of the country come mid-Tuesday, and the rest of the country on Wednesday". Linden said the possibility of more thunder and lightning was possible. "From Tuesday morning and through Wednesday, we are expecting rain and cloud, especially across the upper North Island where there may be thunderstorms." He said the cold chill should ease up near the end of the week. "There will still be a touch more pre-season snow on the ski fields, but for most, it'll feel like winter's icy grip has eased." However, Linden said rain was also expected to spread across the North Island from Tuesday morning, with Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Taranaki bearing the brunt. 3-day outlook: ⛅️️ After a wet and freezing weekend, Monday and Tuesday morning is looking up for some, however we don't get much of a breather, with more wet weather set to makes its way onto the north of the country come mid-Tuesday, and the rest of the country on… Keats said snow that forced the closure of parts of State Highway 8 and State Highway 80 is starting to finally clear. Two sections of State Highway in the Mackenzie Country that were closed overnight Saturday - because of risk from snow and ice - but reopened Sunday morning. The New Zealand Transport Agency said the crews had been busy gritting and treating areas of ice on the roads. Keats said there are still a couple of road snowfall warnings in place for Lewis Pass and Porters Pass until about 9am this morning, "There's been quite a bit of rain that's pushed in over the Canterbury region overnight so Port Hills has had some snow again and today it'll be to about 700 metres but definitely easing as those showers clear out of the South Island today," she said. She said people would have noticed that today is a couple of degrees warmer than Sunday in places like Wellington and Dunedin. "It is starting to feel a little warmer and it will continue to warm back to average today and tomorrow and then even slightly above average for the North Island as we head into the week," she said. The coldest place in New Zealand this morning was Mt Hutt at -7 degrees Celsius, while Manapouri Airport in Te Anau recorded -4 degrees. Keats also said the big swells in Cook Strait will ease, but warned a new weather rain system could hit mid-week. "We've got a new big deep low pressure system out over the Tasman and that's actually starting to influence our weather from today heading into this week and that's going to see the next bout of rain the next large swells and we can expect pretty unsettled kind of week from about Wednesday." Snow making machines going full throttle at Coronet Peak on Thursday afternoon. Photo: Supplied Ski fields are counting down the days until they open after the wintry blast over the weekend. Major ski fields in the South Island are set to open later this week. Coronet Peak ski area manager Nigel Kerr was delighted by the fresh snow dump that was covering their buildings, decks and lifts. "I've just got out of a pit where we're digging down to find the building, which was about 50 centimetres of snow, quite well packed," he said. "It will get people excited because it means we're going to get away to a reasonably good start on time and that is a great thing in the winter industry." He was sleeping well, knowing that their 400 staff would be employed from day one. The start of the season would be driven by locals but the snow dump sent a message to ski bunnies across Aotearoa and across the Tasman that they could book with confidence, Kerr said. He was itching to get his skis on and hit the slopes over the weekend. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
15 hours ago
- 1News
Thousands of lightning strikes in upper North Island
Parts of the upper North Island experienced "quite a bit of thunderstorm activity" overnight, with thousands of lightning strikes recorded. Shortly after 10.30pm, MetService issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Northland and Auckland from 11pm. This was lifted at 4am, but Aucklanders reported still hearing booming thunder and seeing lightning strikes into the early morning. MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden told 1News there had been "quite a bit of thunderstorm activity overnight and early hours of this morning" in Auckland and Northland. He said there were approximately 2000 lightning strikes largely focused in the Kaipara Harbour area about 1am. ADVERTISEMENT A large lightning strike was captured on 1News weather cam at the Sky Tower this morning. (Source: 1News) "But then as we've had people waking up this morning around 6am or so, there's been another band further south which has been impacting the Auckland area and it's been trending past 3000 strikes. "At this point, there's probably been closer to about 4000 strikes since midnight," he said. NIWA reported that more than 5000 lightning strikes were observed over the upper North Island and adjacent waters from 12am to 7am Monday. The day ahead Lynden said lightning and thunder was still expected to continue "largely offshore Auckland". ADVERTISEMENT 'I think as the sun starts to rise and things settle down; it'll mostly move off. So in the next hour or so things should begin to clear up for you guys.' He said there had been some heavy showers this morning associated with the thunderstorms, which were expected to become isolated in the afternoon and clear to finer breaks toward the evening. Lynden said "for the rest of the country, it's much the same story". "After a very cold weekend and a bit of quite a bit of rain about the place easing this morning, with a bit more mild temperatures. He said it would not be "quite as cold as it has been over the weekend".
NZ Herald
16 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Weather: Thousands of lightning strikes awaken Aucklanders during intense overnight storm
Aucklanders will this morning be inspecting their properties for damage after intense thunder and heavy rain overnight. The city had been under a thunderstorm watch overnight between 10.30pm and 1.30am and residents have woken to more thunderstorms. More than 5000 lightning strikes were recorded over the upper North Island and associated offshore areas from Sunday night. A lot of those strikes were in and around the Auckland region. Niwa said the lightning strikes were recorded between midnight until 7am. MetService meteorologist Michael Pawley said the thunderstorms would continue across West Auckland for some time this morning. 'We are seeing a region of instability over that area. 'There are definitely some sparks happening. These cells will probably move on through and on the afternoon to a few showers.' MetService said the city can expect rain with squally thunderstorms, easing to showers this morning. Showers are expected to become few and far between by the afternoon. Westerlies, gusting at 100km/h at first, are expected to ease towards the afternoon. 5000+ lightning strikes ⚡️ were observed over the upper North Island & adjacent waters from 12 am to 7 am Monday. Why the thunderstorms? One key reason is a strong temperature gradient (change in temp over distance). Near 0°C over the central NI, 16-17° in the Far North. — NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) June 8, 2025 MetService also reported a moderate risk of thunderstorms in Northland, Great Barrier Island, the Coromandel Peninsula, and northern and western parts of the Waikato. It said the thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by heavy rain, hail, and wind gusts of up to 100km/h. Additionally, for western Waitomo and northern Taranaki, there is a low risk of thunderstorms throughout the period. In a post online, Niwa suggested that the upper North Island may be in for more thunderstorms on Tuesday afternoon into the evening. Parts of the North Island will also see showers today, particularly in the Bay of Plenty, with clouds spreading north this afternoon. For the upper North Island, showers are set to clear this afternoon. As well, bitterly cold winter conditions greeted householders this morning. Pawley said the coldest place in the country was Mt Hutt, which reached -8C overnight and -6C this morning. 'Manapōuri Airport also reached -5C,' he said. Blenheim was sitting at -1C. Advertise with NZME. In the North Island, Pahīatua was the coldest, at -3.6C. Temperatures in Central Otago have continued to drop. Road snowfall warnings remain in place for Crown Range Road, and Porters Pass and Lewis Pass. MetService head of weather news Heather Keats said the country is in for another unsettled week with a 'few messy features set to influence our weather'. She said a strong, cold southerly will continue to affect most of the country today, with another chilly start in the South Island. 'It's fine and frosty for the west and north of the South Island with a few more showers left for the east.' Keats said southerlies will also pick up this morning for Wellington and Kāpiti. MetService said last night that another freezing night was in store for New Zealand as an icy-cold front swept across the country. MetService meteorologist Surprise Mhlongo said temperatures will be lowest in Wānaka and Queenstown, with both towns expecting -1C. Blenheim and Milford face 0C, while Christchurch will sit at 3C. In the North Island, the lowest temperatures were forecast for Taupō at 0C. The news comes after parts of New Zealand awoke yesterday to the coldest day so far this year. Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch all had their coldest mornings at 4.5C, 2.9C and -2.8C. The alpine village of Aoraki/Mt Cook recorded a temperature of -10C and locals say the area got as low as -13C overnight.
