Temperatures rise in CC, Canterbury rivers see heavy rain

Parts of the South Island could see rain today, with an unusually warm weather system pushing temperatures to 25 degrees Celsius or more in Christchurch.

A heavy rainfall watch is in place for the upper Canterbury lakes and rivers, with rainfall expected to exceed warning criteria within 20km east of the main watershed.

MetService has also issued a heavy rain warning for Fiordland and the upper Otago Lakes.

The West Coast will see rain starting tonight and continuing into the early hours of Friday.

Meteorologist Karl Lutz told RNZ about this. Morning report Program participants in Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound could expect rain to begin this morning with between 250mm and 350mm.

“This is a lot of heavy rain, even for parts of the country that are already used to heavy rain.”

Milford Road will close from East Gate (Hollyford) to the River Donne (Westgate) at midday today due to heavy rain increasing the risk of avalanches.

State Highway 94 will also remain closed tomorrow and reopen Friday, depending on avalanche risk and potential clearing work, the Milford Road Alliance said.

A heavy rain warning has been issued for the upper Otago lakes and rivers, with the heaviest rainfall forecast for Thursday.

Today, in the 24 hours from 16:00, between 175 and 250 mm of rain fell in the Divide area, and between 100 and 150 mm fell within 20 km to the east.

Highs of 20 to 30 mm/h are expected tomorrow in the Divide region, with thunderstorms possible.

It’s warm in the east

The first warm system of the year is fueled by melting snow, Lutz said.

Temperatures in Christchurch will reach 26 degrees Celsius today, followed by 21 degrees Celsius on Thursday and Friday. Today at 23:00 it was already 21 degrees in the city.

Rivers continue to have high levels further south as east Otago continues to suffer from flooding that occurred several weeks ago.

Two factors made this weather system significant.

“This is a very warm air mass that is moving from the subtropics into the southern parts of the South Island, and secondly, this front is moving very slowly, so there will be a very long period of rainfall.”

It may last 24 to 30 hours in many areas and spread to the West Coast. It’s likely the watch will be upgraded to a warning level, Lutz said.

Dunedin and Oamaru are also expected to reach 24 degrees Celsius today.

– Additional ODT Online reporting