31 Dec 2019

Hot weather to bring in the New Year across Aotearoa

12:21 pm on 31 December 2019

Weather is expected to be mostly sunny and warm across New Zealand today, as the New Year arrives.

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A sunny day at Oriental Bay in Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller

MetService meteorologist April Clark said most people would see a fine day today, with just "a few bits and pieces of cloud" this morning clearing in the afternoon and evening.

"For most people it's fairly good news ... we currently have a ridge of high pressure over much of the country and that's the case for the North Island as well as the South Island," she said.

She said some nor'westerlies were building over the South Island which would mean Southland and the West Coast were in for the warmest temperatures.

"So the start of 2020 scary as that is to say, it's nor'westerlies moving across mostly lower the South Island and building across the rest of the South Island.

"Nor'westerlies usually mean it's warmer, we have the added effect to the eastern coast we call the Foehn effect which is just the wind coming on the eastern side of the southern alps has a warming effect."

"This is pretty typical for summer, we have got warmer than average with those nor'westerlies on the eastern coast."

She said those warming temps would continue tomorrow, with the warm front moving up the South Island, through to Thursday when southerlies would bring slightly cooler temperatures.

  • Kaitaia (25C) and Whangārei (25C), Fine, some morning and evening cloud.
  • Auckland (24C): Morning cloud clearing to a sunny day.
  • Hamilton (26C): Fine and sunny.
  • Tauranga (24C), Whakatāne (24C) and Rotorua (25C): Fine, patches of morning cloud.
  • Gisborne (22C), Napier (23C) and Hastings (24C): Morning cloud clearing to a fine day.
  • Taupō (25C), Taumarunui (28C) and New Plymouth (23C): Fine apart from some morning cloud.
  • Whanganui (24C), Palmerston North (25C), Levin (23C), Kāpiti (22C) and Wellington (22C): Patches of morning cloud, otherwise sunny.
  • Masterton (25C): Morning cloud clearing to a sunny day.
  • Blenheim (24C) and Nelson (21C): Morning cloud, then becoming fine.
  • Westport (19C), Greymouth (18C) and Hokitika (18C): Some cloud morning and night, otherwise fine.
  • Kaikōura (21C), Christchurch (20C), Ashburton (25C), Timaru (25C) and Oamaru (22C): Morning cloud, then mostly sunny.
  • Wanaka (29C) and Queenstown (27C): Fine and becoming warm.
  • Alexandra (32C): A sunny and hot day.
  • Dunedin (24C): Fine and sunny.
  • Invercargill (29C): Fine and warm.

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