New Year scorcher: Hot weather heading north as South Island plummets before 2023
After a day of scorching sun in the south, it’s the North Island’s turn to see temperatures rise as we enter the final two days of 2022.
MetService is forecasting temperatures in the late 20C for northern regions tomorrow, with Tauranga and Rotorua seeing heat almost touch 30C.
Auckland sees a high of 25C on a day when not much cloud is predicted.
Evening showers are possible for Rhythm and Vine goers in Gisborne and also in Wellington, with a brief but heavy southerly change also forecast.
After a scorching day yesterday in the South Island, which saw multiple places soar above 30C, temperatures will plummet over the next two days as a cold front brushes through, also bringing brief rain.
Not a fan of the heat? Get ready for a 7-13˚C swing in the eastern South Island tomorrow! 🎢
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) December 29, 2022
30s (🔴) & 20s (🟠) turn to 10s (🟡).
Bay of Plenty looks like the country's hot spot on Friday. pic.twitter.com/RCXptBqgeY
Temperatures in Christchurch will plummet to about 18C and remain in the low 20s for partygoers over New Year’s Eve.
MetService forecaster Gerard Bellam says the cool change will also reach the East Cape by tomorrow night after a warm day is forecast.
“Looking into the last day of 2022, the East Coast from Wairarapa right up through Gisborne will see temperatures in the high 10C and maybe only just cracking 20C,” he said.
MetService has issued no severe weather watches or warnings for any part of the country for the rest of the year.
With fine weather sweeping the largely on-holiday nation, the hottest place to be today was the Garden City.
The Canterbury region saw its hottest day of the summer to date, with temperatures reaching the early 30C.
“Both Southbridge and Leeston, just south of Christchurch both got up to 34.4C at 3pm,” Bellam said.
Dunedin also saw its warmest temperature since March 6 - 25.6C.
Not on our map, but Southbridge and Leeston, south of Christchurch, were the hottest places in Aotearoa today with 34.4C. A number of places in the South Island reached 30C or above today, including Takaka with 32C. For a town or city near you see the map below. ^WX pic.twitter.com/Hi5FbFQlGh
— MetService (@MetService) December 29, 2022