MetService has issued a number of Severe Weather Warnings covering central and southern areas in the lead up to Labour Weekend with more severe weather likely on Saturday.

Sunday and Monday broadly present the better days for a dry outdoor excursions but there will be lingering wet weather scattered around the country.

Heavy rain is working its way up the west coast of the South Island today (Thursday) with around 345mm of rain at Milford Sound in the 24hrs to 1pm this afternoon.

Heavy Rain Warnings have been issued up the West Coast and then onto the Tararua Range as we move into Friday.

Severe gale northwest winds precede the rain with Strong Wind Warnings issued across the Canterbury High Country, Marlborough Sounds, Wellington and Wairarapa.

While there will be a sprinkling of showers across the North Island for the second half of Friday, it’s the central parts of the country that look to be wettest for the beginning of the long weekend.

“If you are traveling for the long weekend, your best bet is to get it done on Friday as Saturday brings the next bout of adverse weather,” said MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris.

Strong winds and heavy rain will be widespread around the country on Saturday as the next weather system passes over.

The heavy rain looks to focus on the upper half of the South Island, while eastern parts of the North Island might not see any rain until the afternoon. 

Saturday also brings a large temperature contrast between eastern areas of the North and South Islands with Hawke’s Bay around 25°C and Oamaru maybe struggling to make double digits.

This cold air spreading in from the south brings the potential for snow down to 500m for inland Canterbury and Otago.

It also makes for a cooler than average run of days for the southern half of the South Island across the long weekend.

As we move through the weekend the wet weather becomes patchier across Aotearoa and if people keep a close eye on the forecast, they might even find a dry window to enjoy the outdoors.

The best bet for prolonged fine weather looks to be the eastern coastline of the North Island.