Parts of the country could be in for the coldest weekend of the year, as a blast of polar air is poised to hit the country.
A road snowfall warning has been issued for the South Island's Porters Pass, while heavy rain is forecast to hit western parts of the North Island.
MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor said New Zealanders should prepare for below-average temperatures across the board.
“The South Island will really feel the cold overnight into Saturday, whereas the North Island will be slightly delayed, hitting overnight into Sunday,” she said.
Niwa forecaster Ben Noll earlier told The New Zealand Herald a mass of cooler air was due to move up the South Island on Tuesday and Wednesday before a larger flow hits northward at the end of the week.
“That’s the one I think most people are going to feel, as it’s going to progress up the whole country - and some temperatures will seem closer to late autumn,” Noll said.
MetService issued a road snowfall warning for Porters Pass (State Highway 73) from 2pm to 9pm on Friday.
“We’re talking about snow falling above 800m in the Canterbury high country area from the Mackenzie Basin to North Canterbury,” O’Connor said.
She said a few centimetres could fall, but little if any is likely to settle on the road.
“The road temperatures are still fairly warm at this time of year, so it will just melt on the road whereas when we get into winter where the temperatures are colder all the time, that allows things to hang around a lot longer.”
Meanwhile, the North Island is under no exception for the cold, and western areas are in for a wet, wintry weekend.
“Tomorrow morning, eastern Waikato, including Northern Taranaki and right over Taupō, is looking very wet on Friday,” O’Connor said.
“We don’t have any watches or warnings out, and we’re not currently expecting it to be impactful, but it is going to be wet for those parts of the North Island.”
O’Connor said around the time the rain disappears, temperatures will drop and everybody will be “a bit chilly.”
MetService told the Herald it’s expected to be the coldest weekend of the year for Auckland.
“Auckland’s maximum temperatures have been above 20C for most of the year, and this weekend we are looking at 19C for the first time.”
In the South, Alexandra and Wanaka will be the chilliest spots in the country, both towns having a brisk 2C forecast overnight on Friday. Queenstown is predicted to get down to 3C, while on the coast Dunedin will be slightly warmer, on 7C
Niwa earlier told the Herald that on Saturday, daytime highs in southern centres - including Invercargill, Dunedin and Queenstown - were forecast to reach only the mid-teens over the weekend.
MetService says the cool conditions will last for a few days before some warmer weather moves in next week.
