Thunderstorms could be in-store for much of the country today, with Northland directly in the firing line.
MetService warned an active front, moving in from the east, will bring storms to the North Island from the afternoon and evening.
There is a moderate chance for thunderstorms in Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, while Northland has a high chance of experiencing storms.
“These storms may be accompanied by heavy rain, 10 to 20mm/h,” MetService said.
“Note that the thunderstorms in Northland may be squally and accompanied by wind gusts of 90 to 100km/h. There is also a risk of isolated tornadoes there.”
Further south, other North Island regions might also face some inclement weather later today.
“For the north of Taranaki there is a moderate risk of thunderstorms with heavy rain 10 to 20mm/h in the afternoon.
“For the Bay of Plenty and the far north of Gisborne there is a moderate risk of thunderstorms in the evening and at night. Those storms may be accompanied by heavy rain, 10 to 20mm/h.”
Wellington could also be hit by thunderstorms, but there is only a “low risk” for the region according to MetService.
The lower South Island is also at moderate to low risk for thunderstorms from the afternoon onwards.
Cold weather continues
It comes as a cold snap across the motu continues to bring unseasonable chills to many.
According to NIWA, the latest chilly weather is courtesy of a tropospheric polar vortex moving over New Zealand from tonight until Wednesday.
“This will result in a July-like chill, strong winds & snow to low levels, particularly on Tuesday-Tuesday night,” NIWA posted on X.
“The wintry wallop will ease by Thursday.”
The system has seen MetService issue a heavy snow watch for areas south of Queenstown from this evening until Tuesday morning.
“This time around the cold air and snow potential spreads up to the North Island with a heavy snow watch in force for parts of Taihape above 700 metres between 10am – 6pm Tuesday,” MetService said.
“This relatively widespread risk of snow has meant our severe weather team has issued road snowfall warnings across all the roads we cover.”