Weather News – A cold and wet Tuesday, but sunshine coming – MetService

Source: MetService

Covering period of Monday 2nd – Thursday 5th February
 
January 2026 saw sweltering heat early in the month with intense rain to follow. Some long-standing records were broken:

Tauranga Airport Wettest Day (9am to 9am) with 274.0mm on 21st Jan.*
Timaru Airport Wettest January with 135.7mm.
Tauranga Airport Wettest January with 408.9mm.
Kerikeri Airport Warmest January Day (9am to 9am) 32.7°C on 11th Jan.
Whitianga Airport Wettest Day (9am to 9am) 247.6mm on 21st Jan.

Records began in 1910 for Tauranga, 1956 for Timaru, 1978 for Kerikeri and 1987 for Whitianga.

Today (Monday), the upper South Island celebrates Nelson Anniversary Day. While cloud and rain move in from the west, many have had a fine morning in the east. The remainder of the day will be dry for Marlborough. It’s a different story for the rest of the country.

MetService Meteorologist Michael Pawley adds “There’s a soupy mess of humid air covering much of the North Island today, and a low-pressure system moving in from the Tasman Sea. Rain is trekking up the South Island today, getting heavier about central New Zealand tomorrow as the low crosses over. There is even the possibility of snow above 1,200 meters about Canterbury from Tuesday afternoon.”

MetService has a Heavy Rain Watch about the Westland ranges south of Fox Glacier until this evening. Tomorrow there is a Heavy Rain Watch for Marlborough south of Seddon, and Canterbury north of the Rangitata River, which has a high chance of being upgraded to an Orange Rain Warning.  In addition, there is a Strong Wind Watch for southeasterlies about Fiordland, Westland and Grey District.

MetService has heat alerts for Napier and Hastings today, which are expected to reach 32°C and 33°C respectively. Much of the North Island has a muggy night ahead. Napier has an overnight minimum temperature of 23°C, and Auckland will only drop to 21°C.

On Tuesday, the maximum temperature for Canterbury will be in the early hours of the morning. Christchurch will drop to a chilly 12°C for most of the day.

* Tauranga experienced a wetter 24-hour period between 17th and 18th May 2005; however, this rainfall was spread across two official reporting days, as daily rainfall is measured from 9am to 9am for climatological records.