Weather forecasters are warning of a burst of wild, spring-like weather this weekend, with heavy rain set to lash the West Coast and severe gales likely to batter much of the country.
A couple of fronts, embedded in a strong and moist northwest flow, will move over New Zealand across the weekend, followed by a change to strong, colder southwesterlies on Sunday.
MetService has issued a string of orange-level warnings and watches spanning much of the South Island and the lower North Island, covering heavy rain and strong wind from Saturday into Sunday.
MetService's Heather Keats said the weekend was offering "a bit of a taster of what spring is like", with fast-moving features racing over the South Island.
"Spring is a notoriously tricky season and full of all sorts of fun fronts and strong winds," Keats said.
Fronts in a strong northwest flow are set to lash the South Island with rain and wind, before colder southwesterlies move in on Sunday. (Source: Breakfast)
Heavy rain is expected for western areas of the South Island from Saturday, with the West Coast the main focus.
"It's a typical normal setup with these fronts as they start to approach Fiordland, Southland, move up the South Island, and kind of affect the North Island probably by Sunday," Keats said.
Severe west to northwest gales are likely to affect many areas on Sunday, with orange strong wind warnings in place from the Canterbury High Country and Southland through to Wellington, the Wairarapa and the Tararua District.
Despite the wind and rain, temperatures are set to climb with the northwesterly flow. Keats said the change would bring "more spring-like temperatures, quite warm in fact for some places", with Christchurch and Ashburton tipped to reach 17C or 18C and Napier hitting 20C on Saturday.
The milder conditions will also cut the risk of frost heavily over the next four or five days for both islands.
Snow is expected to affect higher roads in the South Island on Sunday, with the southernmost ski fields in line for a top-up.
"Norwesters in the Canterbury High Country, they get really strong, so there could be some," Keats said, urging anyone planning a trip to Mount Hutt to keep an eye on the forecast and any road snowfall warnings.
Full list of weather warnings and watches
Heavy Rain Warning - Orange
Ranges of Buller and Grey Districts - 18 hours from 3pm Saturday to 9am Sunday
Strong Wind Warning - Orange
Tararua District - 16 hours from 4am to 8pm Sunday
Wairarapa - 10 hours from 2am to noon Sunday
Wellington and the Marlborough Sounds - 9 hours from 1am to 10am Sunday
Canterbury High Country - 12 hours from 1am to 1pm Sunday
Southland south of Gore, also Stewart Island - 12 hours from 4am to 4pm Sunday
Heavy Rain Watch
Nelson Lakes - 14 hours from 6pm Saturday to 8am Sunday
Headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers - 24 hours from 9am Saturday to 9am Sunday
Ranges of Westland District - 24 hours from 9am Saturday to 9am Sunday
Strong Wind Watch
Dunedin and Clutha - 12 hours from 6am to 6pm Sunday
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