Weather Forecast for Masterton

Hi there Martin,

Thanks for the follow up. We get daily complaints from people who don't realise they are paying for Niwa and MetService forecasts (through taxes) and that WW is an entirely free service. We provide a huge amount of work in our daily news and video feed to bring the free daily forecasts to life. So complaints about our free service - when you already pay for two other weather services - is why we sometimes get frustrated with blunt complaints (and most don't complain to the Government forecasters they pay for - they complain to our free service because we actually take the time to respond!).

That's why we occasionally come across 'rude' - I apologise if we offended you. Thanks for taking a look and digging deeper into what we have to offer, though. I'm sure you'll find it helpful - the big picture makes your local forecast more realistic and make more sense.
Kind regards
Philip Duncan

Hi and thanks for your anonymous complaint about our free service,

It seems the several large downpours around Whangarei missed you yesterday. Some were significant. As we said for the past 14 days any rain in the top of NZ will be *very* isolated. If weather is that important then you should rely on more than just the free local forecast - eg, if weather is really that important to you why wouldn't you read our infographics, news stories about rain and our daily videos? If you're simply relying on the most basic free forecast then that will never be enough for an actual business wanting perfection. Even with 100% confidence of showers forming around Whangarei the geography and the very definition of showers means you may not be guaranteed one at your house. You may find this interesting about people who complain about free forecasts - because we produce a tonne of daily content to make your local forecasts come to life and make sense and if you're following our other content yesterday should not have been a surprise at all:  https://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/content/most-complaints-we-get-are-ridiculous-here-are-some-tips-reduce-weather-surprises

Cheers

WW

5pm Yesterday showing big downpours that formed.

Hey Tom, good question but a little tricky to be too precise on. Most charts are fairly reliable generally for 7 to 10 days out. They give a good GENERAL idea of where highs and lows might be and therefore temperatures and rainfall chances. When it comes to getting specific to a region it can become harder depending on the specific set up.

With a lot of high pressure around the weather doesn't change fast. Best thing is to look for trends - ie if you see a low near Northland one day, gone the next day, and day three there is a low in the Tasman then you can assume there is a moderate chance of low pressure forming "somewhere in the area".

The closer you follow the charts the more you tend to find their strengths and weaknesses. If you take a general approach you'll find 7-10 days helpful but for specific forecasts that far out it's more moderate. This is why IBM's super computer is helpful as it crunches multiple models (and learns from their mistakes) to produce a detailed 10 day forecast . You may find the data at RuralWeather.co.nz (takes 10 seconds to load) helpful at backing up what you can see on the 7-10 day charts. 

Cheers :)
Phil D

Hi Steve, thanks for the local update. We're upgrading our website and observations in mid February. We hope to make further changes to improve observations this year. It's made harder by the fact we all collectively tax fund two organisations that refuse to share current weather data back openly - which is why the Commerce Commission is now actively investigating Niwa and MetService: www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2019/09/metservice-niwa-under-investigation-by-commerce-commission-for-anti-competitive-behaviour.html

We hope if they rule in favour of open data then current conditions will improve even further (which also then feeds back into all forecasts from all providers - effectively lifting accuracy everywhere).

Cheers
Phil D

Hi there, we think Feb will kick off even hotter with highs in the low to mid 30s. February is usually the peak of the heat in Gisborne.

Cheers
WW

Good morning, and sorry to hear you're having issues with the app.

What version iPhone are you using? Our latest app now requires at least iOS10 (which only excludes people with an iPhone 4S or older). If you have a phone newer than that you can upgrade iOS to at least version 10 and it should work again.

However because Apple no longer supports old iOS versions (4S and older) - it ties our hands and means neither can we.  

Hi there, it's a sliding scale of risk of rain. Simple as that basically. We're adding rainfall totals soon. 

Cheers
WW

Yes both ends of the country are quite different right now. The good news is, you have a summer-like Sunday and Monday on the way. The bad news is...don't look at the rest of next week's forecast! 

- WW team

Hi there Ross, think of high pressure as like a mountain and low pressure as the valleys. The rain clouds in the sky - like rivers on land - go for the path of least resistance, which means going around the 'mountains of high pressure in the sky'. cyclones and lows avoid high pressure. Also, highs move slowly - the very nature of their size and high pressure means they 'mooch' along slowly while fast moving lows and fronts zip around the sides - weakening where they run into the sides of the high pressure. Hope that helps - but basically the higher the pressure the slower everything moves. it will be mainly dry for another week or two in Wellsford. Hopefully we can get some rain in February.

Cheers
Phil D

Hi there,

No a drought is when a region has had a significant lack of rain over a long period of time. It can rain during a drought and still be a drought. Parts of Australia have been in one for over three years and they just had some rain this week - but it doesn't come close to reversing why a drought is announced in the first place. For that to happen you need soaking rains that return things back to normal. Auckland had less than 1 to 2mm of rain last night.

Cheers

WW

Hi there, we wish we could free share this data with you but currently Niwa and MetService block us from doing so (See the Commerce Commission investigation just launched about this: www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2019/09/metservice-niwa-under-investigation-by-commerce-commission-for-anti-competitive-behaviour.html) 

In the meantime, you'll need to go directly to MetService or Niwa for this information.

Cheers

WW

H there Deano, unsure why this has happened. The majority of weather stations are privately owned and some come and go. We're lobbying the Government to free up tax funded weather observations too and are glad the Commerce Commission is now investigating this anticompetitive behaviour from both Niwa and MetService (www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2019/09/metservice-niwa-under-investigation-by-commerce-commission-for-anti-competitive-behaviour.html)

In the meantime, we're launching a new look site in February and this will give you the option to look at several local current weather obs - not just the one. Also, just checked on ITAURANG20 was showing up again - must be a glitch with their station. 

Cheers :)

Phil D

Hi there, yes it's a been a little average around Kapiti lately (although now leaning drier than normal). The next week ahead looks dry but until we can shake this light westerly flow you're unlikely to get super hot weather. Hopefully in Feb you'll get some easterlies or northerlies which would lift your temperatures by several to over 10 degrees :)

Cheers

WW

Hi there, we're hoping the second and third weeks of February may see better chances for rain as there may be a break in high pressure over northern NZ - but it's not locked in yet. The tropics north of NZ look to be more energised around then too. We'll have more details next week on February's outlook. There is moderate chance of a tropical cyclone forming (anywhere from the Coral Sea to American Samoa - which is a great distance) in the first 10 days of February based on current data we trust.

Cheers
Phil D

Hi Carolynne

You'll have to contact either Metservice or NIWA for that information. Good luck!

Cheers
Aaron

Hi there

A chance does exist, I'd say it's a lesser risk than yesterday morning and this morning but a chance still there. Fog isn't exactly a thing where I can say definitely yes or definitely no (in times like this) as such a small subtle change in wind direction can cause a dramatically different outcome. Just keep an eye keen eye on the weather first thing when you get up tomorrow and you'll know if it's foggy or not (obviously).

WW

Would like to, is looking quite dry for the east coast of the North Island (infact many parts of NZ) till early or perhaps even mid February.

WW

Yes indeed :)

WW

Low cloud has definitely hung around much longer than anticipated, usually it burns off a bit but not so much today. As to whether the low cloud was expected, it was definitely expected to be a cloudy morning but determining whether it will be fog or just above the ground for example can often be a mission for forecasters as such a little change can result in a very different outcome. Fog wasn't expected from yesterday's forecast no.

WW