Heavy rain warnings and watches as well as snowfall and rain watches are in place for a large part of the South Island for the start of the week of 28 July, 2024. Photo: MetService
Orange heavy rain and road snowfall warnings have been issued for some South Island regions, while watches for heavy rain, snow, and wind are in place for a large part of the remainder of the island.
MetService said for the 12 hours from 10am Monday, the area northwest of Motueka could expect between 70 and 100 millimetres of rain.
But there was minimal chance of the warning being upgraded to red, MetService said.
North Otago, Dunedin and Clutha southeast of Raes Junction also had an orange heavy rain warning, with a forecast of about 80mm to 120mm of rain, from Monday noon until Tuesday evening.
The rain is expected to turn to rain snow above 300 metres for those regions during Tuesday.
There was a moderate chance of the warning being upgraded to red.
Heavy rain could cause flooding, slips and difficult driving conditions.
A heavy rain watch is in place for Mount Taranaki, Westland District, Southland and Clutha about and northwest of Raes Junction on Monday. There was a moderate chance of these being upgraded to a warning.
But MetService said there was a high chance of the strong wind watches being upgraded to warnings for Westland (in place Tuesday morning to Wednesday noon) and The Fiords (in place Monday night to Wednesday morning).
These winds may approach severe gale in exposed places, MetService said.
And a snow watch will be in place for South Canterbury, including the foothills, inland areas of Otago and Southland as well as eastern Fiordland from Monday until Tuesday.
There was a moderate chance of the watch being upgraded to a warning, with snowfall possibly reaching warning criteria for the Otago, Southland and Fiordland areas.
"Snow level is expected to lower to 300 to 500 metres overnight Monday and during Tuesday morning with significant accumulations shifting towards eastern Otago."
A road snowfall warning will be in place for Lindis Pass (State Highway 8), Crown Range Road, and Milford Road (State Highway 94), from Monday morning until night.