Grasshopper’s New Zealand Weekend Forecast, Friday Sept 11 – Powder, Westerlies & More Freshies on the Horizon
Mountainwatch | The Grasshopper
Kiwi ski fields are positively glowing with blinding white light reflecting off a brand-spanking-new layer of powder. Yet another one of these spring cold fronts zipped up the country Wednesday night and through Thursday, topping up South Island ski fields with another 5–15cm, although Mt Hutt went one step further with a reported 20cm. Numbers from Mt Ruapehu haven’t come in yet, but I’m expecting a dusting down at base level and a bigger top-up on the upper slopes to show up in this morning’s reports.
Unsettled spring westerlies continue to rule the roost for the foreseeable future, with a windy Friday likely to cause a few headaches for lift operations, especially in the Southern Lakes. The weekend looks fairly decent overall, with a mix of sunshine, cloud and a few flurries down south, while Canterbury gets the better end of the deal with plenty of sunshine.
Monday shapes up as a cracker before things start going downhill again Tuesday. A front moves in Tuesday night, kicking off another stormy spell through mid-next week, bringing more freshies and cold temperatures that’ll keep the slopes gleaming.
Friday 11th September
Westerly winds ramp up across the country, reaching gale force in exposed areas and likely hampering lift operations. The Southern Lakes will have partly sunny, partly cloudy skies with a few light snow showers, mostly about the Queenstown ski fields during the afternoon.
In Canterbury, there’ll be some cloud spilling over the Main Divide, but Mt Hutt will be nice ’n sunny and fairly sheltered from the strong winds.
Mt Ruapehu is also in for a partly sunny, partly cloudy day before light mid- and upper-level snow showers develop around evening, giving the upper slopes a dusting.
Saturday 12th September
Strong, cold southwest winds gradually turn to a milder west-to-northwesterly. A mostly fine morning in the Southern Lakes will turn cloudy during the afternoon, before another surge of strong southwesterlies brings light snow showers overnight and a 1–4cm dusting for the ski fields.
Canterbury meanwhile stays nice and sunny, while clouds clear Mt Ruapehu during the morning for a mint afternoon.
Sunday 13th September
Strong southwesterlies gradually back off and turn westerly. The Southern Lakes will continue to have fine and cloudy spells with a few flurries still possible, while Canterbury stays mostly fine again, although Mt Hutt could see a few light afternoon showers.
Mt Ruapehu will see more snow showers, but they’ll turn wet about the lower slopes during the morning as snow levels rise. Skies then clear later in the afternoon for a nice end to the day.
Monday 14th September
Fine across the South Island with some high cloud. Westerly winds for the Southern Lakes and southwest breezes for Canterbury.
Mt Ruapehu will have just a little afternoon cloud in an otherwise perfectly sunny day, with a light southwest breeze.
Tuesday 15th September
Northwest winds strengthen over the South Island as a front approaches from the west, eventually reaching gale force in exposed areas. Clouds gradually build throughout the day before the front moves in over the Southern Lakes after dark, bringing heavy rain and high-level snow.
Mt Ruapehu stays sunny, with a southwest breeze.
Extended Forecast
The front moving into the Southern Lakes Tuesday night will sweep north over the country through Wednesday and Thursday, the 16th and 17th of September. A strong, cold southwest flow follows hot on its heels, bringing snow showers to Kiwi ski fields through Friday the 18th. The Southern Lakes look best placed to cash in, with a decent powder top-up on the cards.
West-to-southwest winds will likely stick around through the weekend of the 19th and 20th, remaining strongest over the Southern Lakes. A couple of weak fronts could bring further light showers there, while Canterbury and Mt Ruapehu should see a mix of sunshine and cloud.
That’s all from me today, folks. I’m sending out NZ forecasts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout the season. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday.
Grasshopper
