It's a mixed bag for Aotearoa's weather this summer, with some places faring better than others in the forecasts.
NIWA principal scientist Chris Brandolino joined Breakfast this morning to take a look at what El Niño has in store for New Zealand.
"Let's go island by island," he said. "For the North Island, basically, between now and Christmas, for the most part looking warm and dry. Pretty straightforward. There will be some bouts of rain [in the] lower North Island over the next couple days but, warm and dry, and that includes Christmas Day.
"[We] could see some showers and thunderstorms this time next week if you're gonna be camping [in the] central plateau, central part of the North Island – but overall, thumbs up."
It's a different picture for the South Island, Brandolino said, with more variability in the forecast ahead of Christmas.
"West of the South Island, probably these waves of rain including this weekend. A wet weekend on tap.
"Probably warm on the eastern part of the South Island – but as we fast forward towards to, say Christmas Eve, maybe the 23rd, 24th, 25th, there's likely to be a pretty big rain event potentially for the west of the South Island. We have to watch that.
"If your holiday plans take you to Fiordland or the west of the South Island or interior Otago, Queenstown, there could be some meaningful rain as we approach the Christmas holiday."
The meteorologist urged campers and trampers especially to monitor the forecasts.
"But for the rest of summer, it's that theme, we're going to be seeing variability.
"We're going to probably see a wet period as we begin maybe late 2023, early 2024, so there could be some gloomy weather to start the new year – but, I think that's just a road stop," he added.
"I think we will proceed to more dryness as we work our way through the upcoming, say, January and February period."
Overall, Brandolino was optimistic.
"Let's remember last summer. For the North Island, it was a bummer summer.
"I think the odds are, it's going to be a better summer, so that's the good news."
SHARE ME