Rain marches North

MetService has heavy rain warnings in force for most of the South Island and for Mount Taranaki. Wind and rain is expected to accompany the passage of a low-pressure system and its associated fronts across New Zealand. Unusually high amounts of rain are forecast for Southland, Nelson and northern Marlborough.

"This system carries a decent dollop of rain", commented MetService Weather Ambassador, Bob McDavitt. "It is expected to be slow-moving today and tonight over the South Island. On Saturday it is expected to march north, mainly affecting Taranaki to Nelson and Marlborough and then, through to Sunday morning, moving quickly across the rest of the North Island."

"For the drought-affected parts of the North Island this is likely to be a brief hard burst of rain rather than the long-lasting gentle type of rain that is really needed to soak into the soil.

Mr. McDavitt added that the north to northwest winds preceding this cold front on Saturday are likely to rise to gale force in exposed parts of the lower half of the North Island. "Brace for gusts of around 100 km/hr, and that's strong enough to toss a small trampoline."

After the cold front passes through winds are expected to turn westerly,bringing showers on Sunday and Monday.