Weekend weather: Brief fine spell, sub-zero morning temperatures, new polar blast in wings
A day of sunshine is set to bring a shortlived reprieve from the latest polar blast - but more wet weather is on its way coupled with the coldest overnight temperatures of the year.
Forecasters are also keeping watch on the next cold snap set to hit the country in the middle of next week
Just one road snowfall warning remains in place across New Zealand this morning as the latest cold front that blanketed much of the South Island and central parts of the North Island moves away.
MetService forecaster Mmathapelo Makgabutane said cloudy skies would clear across New Zealand today, though a bit of high cloud would likely remain around parts of Canterbury where snow fell to sea level in parts and disrupted travel across the island.
“For a lot of the country we should expect some good fine spells today,” she said.
Today's weather is the pick of the week for those heading to the football game in Wellington this afternoon☀⚽☀⚽☀
— MetService (@MetService) August 11, 2023
Enjoy the sunshine😎 but be sure to pack a jacket, with temps still on the nippy side#FIFAWWC2023 pic.twitter.com/1wdURU9dQL
Both Women’s World Cup quarter final matches today in Wellington and Auckland are forecast to be played in fine conditions.
“It’s definitely the best day they could have picked in terms of this week,” Makgabutane said.
With clear skies over the South Island early this morning we saw lots of freezing temps
— MetService (@MetService) August 10, 2023
Some notable lows below:
🧊 -6.6C Mt Cook
🧊 -4.8C Manapouri
🧊 -3.0 Christchurch
It'll be the North Island's turn tonight with severe frosts possible for some inland spots pic.twitter.com/Av0uBumK0M
However, tomorrow the country would wake to some of the coolest temperatures of 2023 because of the procession of cold fronts that had swept up New Zealand over the week, each one bringing successively icier air.
“So we’ve got a lot of cold air over the country and now, with the cloud clearing, those temperatures are expected to drop even further overnight meaning that Saturday morning is going to be a particularly cold one,” she said.
Severe frosts were possible for inland centres.
Happy Friday! 🙌
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) August 10, 2023
Sunrise revealed a stunning, snow-covered view of the Southern Alps from Ōtautahi Christchurch 🏔️ pic.twitter.com/yKVfbxuUf4
Sub-zero temperatures were likely to be recorded across much of the South Island inland, but in the North Island Masterton was also expected to drop to -4C and Taupō to -3C.
The rest of the day would bring scattered showers to western regions while the east of both islands would remain fine before the next wave of fronts marched across the country on Sunday bringing rain.
At this stage no warnings or watches had been issued. The snowfall warning for the Desert Rd is the only alert in force. The road is currently closed due to snow, and MetService warned a few snow flurries were expected to affect the road until early Friday afternoon.
UPDATE 8AM
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Central North Island (@WakaKotahiCNI) August 10, 2023
SH1 Desert Rd remains CLOSED, due to snow and ice. Northbound road users detour via SH49, SH4, SH47, SH46 then back onto SH1. Reverse if travelling southbound. You can find this information on our live Traffic Info Map, https://t.co/iL20c59dlW pic.twitter.com/IboJ9brvoD
With the last of the snow falling on the volcanic plateau, MetService was also keeping watch on a fresh weather system due to move up the country in the middle of next week.
Makgabutane said at this stage it was too early to tell how cold it would get but snow was expected to fall in elevated areas of the South Island.
“The next weather system looks to come through midweek next week, Wednesday into Thursday.
“Over the next week or so we can expect some unsettled weather, which is very typical for this time of year.”