Stormy weather to hit parts of the country. Video \/ Weather Watch<\/p>\n
New Zealand's first wintry blast will be pushed in by a storm that is expected to hit near Tasmania tonight.<\/p>\n
By the end of the week, the storm is expected to unravel near New Zealand and temperatures are set to plummet, especially in the South Island.<\/p>\n
On Friday, WeatherWatch reported that Dunedin's high is expected to be no more than 7C and around midday, the city's wind chill temperature would feel like 2C.<\/p>\n
The chilly weather will be a result of a large Antarctic southerly sitting over the country.<\/p>\n
\"We haven't seen this so far this year,\" said head weather analyst of WeatherWatch, Phillip Duncan.<\/p>\n
Duncan said the weather event won't cause major problems but there may be some alpine issues on highways and up to a few hundred metres of snow flurries in the South Island.<\/p>\n
Blustery winds are also expected to accompany the cold temperatures on Friday night and Saturday morning, particularly around the Otago peninsula which could record gusts between 80-110km\/h.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, the cold weather will track further up the North Island and there would also be more rain across the country.<\/p>\n
\"Southland your drought problems are very quickly fading and we're hopeful that Waikato will get 40-60mm (of rain) over the next two weeks so that is also some good news,\" said Duncan.<\/p>\n
Later today, rain is expected to sweep across near Mount Taranaki and the Waikato, where farmers are bearing the brunt of a drought.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, it is set to get windy in the South Island as the low-pressure system of the storm moves towards New Zealand.<\/p>\n
The southerly is followed by a high-pressure system which means the country's first winter cold snap will be brief and temperatures would warm up again at the end of the weekend.<\/p>\n
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Read more:<\/p>\n
Weather: Storm over Tasmania pushing in cold and blustery winds to New Zealand - New Zealand Herald<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Stormy weather to hit parts of the country. Video \/ Weather Watch New Zealand's first wintry blast will be pushed in by a storm that is expected to hit near Tasmania tonight Continue reading