Here’s what is making the weather headlines today.

THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TOMORROW

Expect afternoon thunderstorms for much of the South Island today, also the lower North Island. Tomorrow we have a risk of thunderstorms again but the risk does drop.

The cold upper air responsible for the thunderstorms laterly finally starts to move away on the 26th December.

More on today’s thunderstorms chances from Metservice here.

RAIN OUTLOOK

Becoming drier than we have been lately, our afternoon showers / downpours / thunderstorms that have been bothering us start to move away on boxing day.

As we can see in the map below for the South Island, higher rainfall can be expected for inland areas than about coastal parts. The North Island has a similar outlook.

The precipitation percentage of normal map below shows wetter than average expected rainfall in blue, average rainfall is white and drier than average rainfall is red. Map runs through to the 30th December 2022.

CHRISTMAS DAY FORECAST

High pressure still looks to cover most of New Zealand bringing mainly settled weather this coming Sunday, the main pointers are as follows.

• Some high cloud possible for the North Island streaming out of an area of low pressure well to the north.
• Any morning cloud for the eastern South Island breaks away
• Afternoon clouds about inland hills / ranges may bring a few isolated showers, low risk of some thunder, mainly east of the main divide.
• Despite the risk of afternoon showers as mentioned above many will have a dry and mostly sunny day.
• Light winds, afternoon sea breezes for all.
• Temperatures in the low to mid twenties for most, coastal areas will generally be a bit cooler than further inland.
• Central Otago / inland Southland / inland Buller and parts of the inner North Island (Waikato) may reach into the late twenties.
• A front approaching from the southwest brings showers to Fiordland.