NIWA and the Department of Conservation have teamed up to create detailed weather forecasts of the country's National Parks, huts and most popular trails.
Anyone who's been out in the bush knows how rugged and remote trails can be and how fast the weather can change.
NIWA and DOC hope to improve people's ability to safely plan trips into the great outdoors, and have put safety at the heart of the forecast.
Parks Weather focuses first and foremost on the risk of hazards such as heavy rain, extreme temperatures, strong winds and snow.
The website launched several months ago with 49 sites, concentrating on the Great Walks and locations in the country's 13 National Parks.
It's now rolled out an additional 22 sites, as chosen by DOC - based on the areas with the highest risk of severe weather, and with the greatest number of visitors.
There are now over 70 locations, with hopes that more will be added in future.
Kathryn speaks to Nava Fedaeff, a forecaster at NIWA who has been working on the project this year.
Photo: Frankie Sanders, NIWA, 123rf
