New Zealand is, for the most part, in a westerly flow of weather for the next couple of weeks which means rainfall totals in the west will be higher than the east. There’s some healthy northern rainfall too.

Over the next week rainfall amounts will be above normal in a number of regions which will help make up for the significant rainfall deficit some regions are currently in. This is definitely a positive although we need much more rain to balance the ledger.

The westerly flow will bring several fronts to New Zealand with above normal rainfall most likely in many western areas. We may also get a few southerlies (especially if a low forms east of NZ this weekend) which will help drive in some rain to eastern areas – perhaps more so in the North Island. 

Snow will be heavy in the upper Southern Alps and we do expect a few snow flurries down towards Queenstown even – but it may not be very much at those lower levels. The further out we go in forecasting the less accuracy there is so we’ve also included higher resolution 7 day maps below too.

14 DAY RAINFALL OUTLOOK (GFS)

7 DAY RAINFALL OUTLOOK (GFS)

7 DAY RAINFALL OUTLOOK (ECMWF)

– WeatherWatch.co.nz