We measure air pressure using Hectopascals (hPa) and on Friday there will be a 101 hPa difference between a huge storm south west of NZ and a huge high south east of NZ.

Normally the difference between highs and lows would be less than half that.

The low gets down to around 947hPa and the high gets up to 1048hPa – quite a stunning difference over such a short distance.

So what does that mean? It basically means the Southern Ocean is reaching peak intensity (as it does around August).

But, interestingly these giant systems are actually mostly impacting NZ’s weather positively – bringing milder conditions and buffering us from the severe conditions occurring around southern Australia.

Full details in the video…