New Zealand Weekend Forecast , Friday August 2nd – Fine & Chilly Apart from a Light Dusting on Monday
Mountainwatch | The Grasshopper
New Zealand, now known as the land of the deep white powder, is absolutely fizzing after a full-on winter storm dropped a massive load of snow on South Island ski resorts earlier this week. Snow falling as low as 300m settled in and around many towns and affected some roads.
Final storm tallies are in and the numbers are staggering. Treble Cone and The Remarkables are reporting the largest numbers in the Southern Lakes, with 70+cm and 67cm respectively, while Coronet reported 20cm at base and 40cm up high. Cardrona scored 41cm.
Tallies were even larger in Canterbury, where Mt Hutt scored 83cm, but Ohau, the little club field in the MacKenzie Basin, took home the gold medal with 93cm.
The weather has now cleared, and resorts will enjoy several fine, chilly days, making for epic skiing conditions. The only caveat is that a weak front coming through on Monday will give the Southern Lakes an early dusting of about 1-3cm and 1cm or less in Canterbury.
Friday August 2nd
A mostly mint day with a light and icy E-SE breeze. However, clouds in Canterbury will affect some resorts until afternoon.
Saturday August 3rd
A beautiful, clear and calm winter day for all South Island resorts.
Sunday August 4th
Another cracker of a day for all South Island resorts, although high cloud will show up over the Southern Lakes in the afternoon. Light breezes, mostly from the W-NW.
Monday August 5th
A front moving up the South Island will bring snow showers to the Southern Lakes in the morning and one or two to Canterbury in the afternoon, turning NW winds to the west. Apart from that, the weather will be mostly fine.
Extended Forecast
Next week, the weather will remain fine on Tuesday before another cold front moves up the country from late Wednesday through Thursday. This front will likely bring a top-up of powder to all NZ resorts, although there is a chance Mt Ruapehu on the North Island could pick up more substantial snowfall through Friday, the 9th, into next Saturday, the 10th of August. This would be a very welcome gift for the snow starved mountain, but we’ll have to wait closer to the time before counting on that. A weak front may also pass over the South Island next weekend, the 10th and 11th of August, possibly bringing just brief light snow showers.
That’s all from me today, folks. The next forecast is Monday. See you then, and have a great weekend.
Grasshopper
