Latest news with #DanielCorbett
1News
26-06-2025
- Climate
- 1News
Rain 'almost off the scale', 250km/h wind gusts ahead of school holidays
An active front across parts of the central North Island and South Island will bring heavy rain, thunderstorms, gales and possible flooding, MetService says. Earlier in the week, the forecaster issued orange heavy rain watches and warnings for parts of the South Island and the lower North Island into Friday. 1News meteorologist Daniel Corbett said for some places the heavy rain will be "almost off the scale" as some "nasty" weather moves in. Watch Daniel Corbett's weather warning on TVNZ+ MetService meterologist Heather Keats told RNZ Canterbury High Country experienced "massive" 250km/h wind gusts overnight. ADVERTISEMENT Wind gusts of more than 120km/h were recorded in Wellington. Keats said other places experienced 90km/h gusts while some areas also had 10mm to 20mm of rain hourly. New Zealand Transport Agency urged motorists to take care on State Highway 73 through Arthur's Pass and State Highway 7 near Springs Junction due to weather. Earlier, a slip closed State Highway 6 through Haast Pass. NZTA confirmed the road has since reopened. MetService meteorologist Michael Pawley said the Nelson and Tasman region recorded significant rain as high as 25mm/h and should expect "a lot more to fall by Friday evening". Northern parts of the South Island were likely to have than a month's worth of rain before the end of tomorrow. ADVERTISEMENT Thunderstorms were expected in Northland before dawn on Friday and, as the front moved, the risk would spread to other regions of the North Island and top of the South Island. Overnight into Saturday, the winds would shift southerly, meaning heavy rain in Dunedin and Otago with the possibility of heavy snow above 600m inland, potentially impacting alpine roads. "Sunday looks like the better day to travel if you're going away for the school holidays because the severe weather is expected to ease," Pawley said. Full list of watches and warnings Heavy rain and north to northwest gales have been forecast for central and southern parts of the country. (Source: Supplied) Heavy Rain Warning - Orange Taranaki - 18 hours from 9pm tonight. ADVERTISEMENT Tasman District northwest of Motueka - 33 hours from 3am today. Buller District - 13 hours from 9am today. Nelson District about and southeast of SH 6 and north of Nelson Lakes, also Marlborough about and north of Seddon (excluding the Sounds) - 33 hours from 9am today. Strong Wind Warning - Orange Marlborough Sounds and Wellington - nine hours from 9am today. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Iran strikes report, stranded travellers land safely, rough weather coming, Bezos' wedding under fire, Kiwi basketballer joins LA Lakers. (Source: 1News) Heavy Rain Watch ADVERTISEMENT Bay of Plenty and Rotorua - 12 hours from noon today. Taranaki - 21 hours from 6pm today. Marlborough Sounds - 33 hours from 9am today. Nelson and Tasman Districts from Motueka to SH 6, including Nelson Lakes - 29 hours from 10am today. The ranges of Grey District - 12 hours from 4am today. Dunedin and North Otago - seven hours from 9am today. Strong Wind Watch ADVERTISEMENT Marlborough about and south of Seddon - 15 hours until 3pm today. Heavy Snow Watch Central Otago and Canterbury High Country south of the Rangitata River - 11 hours from 11pm on Friday.
1News
14-06-2025
- Climate
- 1News
'Perfect breeding ground': Why forecasting NZ's weather is so difficult
New Zealand's weather has a reputation for being unpredictable and keeping both locals and forecasters on their toes. However, behind the famous "four seasons in one day" catchphrase is a perfect storm of geography, winds, and oceans. "New Zealand is an isolated, island nation in the middle of the roaring 40s, where fast moving weather systems are not uncommon, contributing to our highly changeable weather," said MetService. The roaring 40s refer to a belt of strong westerly winds that circle the Southern Hemisphere. ADVERTISEMENT These prevailing winds, paired with air masses from both the subtropics and the polar south, mean New Zealand is constantly caught between weather extremes. 1News' meteorologist Daniel Corbett said this positioning makes New Zealand the "perfect breeding ground" for unpredictable weather. "We're getting cold, we're getting warm, all mixing together." Corbett said weather systems can often "get stuck" and don't move across the country. "Sometimes these areas of cold higher up, these cold pools as we call them, move through and then they get surrounded by warm air. And it's like a car sitting in a lump of mud, spinning its wheels. It doesn't move, so you get the rain for several days." North to south variations New Zealand's long and narrow shape, stretching more than 1600 kilometres from Cape Reinga to Bluff, means varied seasons and vastly different climate conditions between the north and south. ADVERTISEMENT A MetService spokesperson said this led to "highly changeable day-to-day weather" that was often influenced by multiple weather systems. "It's rare for every region in New Zealand to be experiencing similar weather conditions." Mountainous terrain and surrounding ocean also play a role. When westerlies push rain onto the South Island's West Coast, the Southern Alps shield the east from bad weather. "However, it's those same Alps that also create the Foehn wind effect with Canterbury hit by strong and warm northwesterlies." The Tasman Sea provides a "breeding ground" for low pressure systems that often produce heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms, MetService said. Systems from New Zealand's northwest can bring warm or mild air, while systems from the Southern Ocean bring cold air from the sub-Antarctic regions and are responsible for cold snaps. ADVERTISEMENT New Zealand from Himawari 8, a Japanese weather satellite in geostationary orbit. (Source: Supplied) To keep up with these systems, MetService operates a high-resolution weather model down to 200 metres, and receives satellite imagery every 10 minutes from a Japanese geostationary satellite near the equator. Despite that, radar coverage can be patchy due to mountainous terrain and the curvature of the Earth. "There are still gaps in coverage in the lowest parts of the atmosphere," the national meteorological service's spokesperson said. "Sudden changes in weather, particularly thunderstorms, are challenging to forecast anywhere in the world, but it is even more challenging in mountainous countries such as New Zealand where the weather varies rapidly from one place to another." What next? The future of forecasting in New Zealand could benefit from AI advancements, MetService said. ADVERTISEMENT "Computers are getting faster, including the super computers that run weather models, which means higher resolution outputs are possible, providing a more detailed picture of the incoming weather. "This finer detail is especially helpful when looking at smaller features such as thunderstorms or local wind conditions." For now though, MetService advised Kiwis to stay vigilant to "highly changeable" weather. "Weather can often deteriorate quickly. Keeping updated with the latest MetService forecast and severe weather information, puts you in the best position to stay safe and keep those around you safe." Watch Daniel Corbett's explanation of our unpredictable weather on TVNZ+
1News
01-06-2025
- Climate
- 1News
Daniel Corbett's winter outlook: Get ready for a wild ride
This winter could bring a bit of everything on to our table. It will be like grabbing the extra big plate at the smorgasbord to get a sample of everything from the buffet. The season's weather will feature lots of variety - from the risk of heavy extreme rainfall to Antarctic cold and some fine settled days in between. This variety will be the key feature because there's no set driving force to the weather over the next few months. Instead, we will have lots of factors jostling for space on our weather maps each week. Watch Daniel Corbett's winter outlook on TVNZ+ The main driver that can influence our weather is ENSO - El Nino Southern Oscillation – which has now tilted back to the middle of the scale. That puts us midway between the La Nina of last year and El Nino at neutral. ADVERTISEMENT In a meteorological sense that means the Pacific Ocean, instead of being too warm or too cold, is just in the middle. Iin other words, rather than a predominant El Nino which pushes westerly winds across New Zealand, or more easterlies with a La Nina, we could have both - if not other wind directions too. The big pink elephant in the room leading into winter is the warmer than normal seas around New Zealand, and many of the areas surrounding us, that help produce our weather systems. They are currently running 1-4C above normal. Sea temperatures are generally above average currently. Courtesy NOAA. (Source: Supplied) Our warming planet has been making this quite commonplace these days. Think of warmer seas like that hotter tub of bath water with rising steam coming off it. It has more rising air because of the warmer water, which can lead to more vertical motion to help create clouds and weather systems. Warm seas ADVERTISEMENT The extreme rainfall events in Nelson and at Taree in New South Wales are very recent memories but they're also a good reminder of the stacked deck of cards that the weather now throws our way during heavy rain events. The warm seas, a more significant feed of juicy air from the tropics, and the right conditions for low pressure development combined often play a part in these rainfall events. As a result, more extreme rainfall events may not be out of the realm of possibilities again over winter. With this mix of different types of weather during the season, the extra thick merino as well as the sunglasses and thinner layers will all come in handy. Of course, the raincoats will also be a big go-to at times. Overall, the winter will be warmer than normal thanks to the surrounding seas but that won't completely keep outbreaks of cold air from making a visit at times too. This will especially be the case when a lobe of the all too familiar Polar Vortex rotates into the Southern Ocean. Brrr! The skiers might find some decent snowfall on occasion too with the right moisture feed coinciding with these cold surges. So, get ready for winter - it looks like it could be a wild ride. ADVERTISEMENT Watch Daniel Corbett's winter outlook on TVNZ+
