Wind and rain for start of school holidays 

MetService is forecasting wind and rain for the start of the school holidays.  

The term break officially began after school today, September 19 and runs through until October 6.  

“With a clear sky expected tonight we will see the temperature drop away and it will be a cold start to the weekend. Temperatures are set to drop to around 2°C in the area, cold enough for some spots to see a touch of frost,” says MetService meteorologist John Law.

A front is set to move up the South Island on Sunday, bringing extensive rain with heavy falls in the west, before becoming stationary over the central part of the country into the coming working week.

“After the cold start, Saturday is set to be a fine day throughout with highs around 16°C,” Law says. 

“Sunday will be a cloudier day and once again our winds will be increasing, this time coming in from the north. While most of us will get away with another dry day, there may be an odd shower that reaching into the Hunua ranges.” 

On Monday, a partial solar eclipse will be going over the country just after 6.00am but cloud may hamper the view for some. 

A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, partially or completely blocking the sun’s light. 

“Unfortunately it looks like we will have a covering of high cloud across the region to start the week. However, changes in the weather pattern over the weekend could mean a break in the cloud to witness the astronomic show so keep an eye on the cloud cover forecasts,” Law says.