If Santa is quick he can hop on a ridge of high pressure for his big trip to New Zealand very soon.
NIWA meteorologists have scoured the skies and consulted the computers to bring you the best Christmas and Boxing Day forecast they could find a couple of weeks out. We will update as we get closer to the big day.
There may be a few showers around but compared to last year it’s looking pretty good.
Last Christmas Eve, more than 100 people were evacuated overnight after flooding at Waihi Beach. On Christmas Day there were a several localised thunderstorms, floods and slips in Napier, Whanganui and the Coromandel Peninsula.
It was a different much more pleasant occasion in the South Island where Cromwell hit 32.8°C on Christmas Day, the warmest temperature recorded across all of New Zealand in December 2018.
2019 Christmas and Boxing Day Forecast
Upper North Island (including Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Coromandel Peninsula)
- Mostly dry conditions likely.
- Daytime temperatures near average (generally in the low 20s.)
East Coast (including Gisborne, Napier, Wairarapa)
- Mostly dry conditions likely.
- Daytime temperatures near average (generally in the mid 20s.)
Western North Island (including New Plymouth, Whanganui)
- Scattered showers possible.
- Daytime temperatures slightly below average (generally in the upper teens.)
Lower North Island (including Wellington)
- Scattered showers possible.
- Daytime temperatures near average (generally in the upper teens.)
Upper South Island (including Nelson, Blenheim)
- Scattered showers possible.
- Daytime temperatures slightly below average (generally in the upper teens to near 20 degrees.)
Eastern South Island (including Christchurch, Timaru)
- A few showers possible.
- Daytime temperatures below average (generally in the mid-to-upper teens.)
Lower South Island (including Dunedin, Invercargill)
- Scattered showers possible.
- Daytime temperatures below average (generally in the mid teens.)
Lakes Region (including Queenstown, Wanaka)
- Scattered showers possible.
- Daytime temperatures below average (generally in the mid teens.)
West Coast (including Greymouth, Hokitika)
- Showers likely.
- Daytime temperatures below average (generally in the mid teens.)
