The spring equinox is this Wednesday at precisely 8:21pm NZT (or 08:21 UTC Sept 23).

WeatherWatch.co.nz says this means days and nights are now of equal length, but as of Thursday days will start to get longer than the nights…and this will continue on until the summer solstice on December 22nd.

The equinox is also when the windy westerlies usually kick off – with El Nino fuelling them even more. But not this year.  Because NZ can have chaotic weather patterns we are currently experiencing an easterly flow…the complete opposite.

This general easterly flow will remain with us for the rest of September. 

October, however, sees westerlies arriving in New Zealand according to forecasters at WeatherWatch.co.nz.

For those in England for the Rugby World Cup, the Autumn Equinox for them signals the slide towards wetter, more wintry weather in October.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz