MetService forecast for Wednesday, December 3. Image / MetService

Heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds expected as summer officially begins

Author: RNZ,
Publish Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2025, 4:00pm

By RNZ

The start of December might mark the beginning of summer but the upcoming week is not all sunshine and clear, blue skies.

MetService reports a broad range of weather including heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds and sunny spells to finish the week off.

The North Island is in for a warm and humid start, while the south will have cooler temperatures throughout.

The week is set to start with comparatively settled conditions, some cloud and showers for western areas, with sunny spells elsewhere.

Gisborne and Hastings are making the most of their sunny start to the summer season, with temperatures expected to top out at 29 and 31C, respectively, today.

On Tuesday a low is expected to develop in the Tasman Sea and move towards the country through the evening.

This will bring a period of unsettled weather for many regions on Tuesday, Wednesday and into early Thursday, with heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms likely across the North Island.

“That low deepens rapidly and pulls a warm, moist, sub-tropical airmass across the country during Tuesday afternoon and evening,”MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden said.

“It’ll bring widespread rain, strong southwesterly winds and the risk of thunderstorms for many parts of the North Island, including Northland, Auckland and Coromandel.”

While the North Island may be in for the brunt of it, the South Island gets its share of rainy weather too.

A trough is expected to bring rain through Monday night and Tuesday, followed by cool southwesterlies.

The upper parts of the South Island may also experience a period of heavier rain on Wednesday associated with the low to the north.

The low gradually moves off to the southeast on Wednesday night, and conditions will ease behind it, before starting to clear through Thursday morning, with drier weather and some sunshine returning for many places.

However, strong to gale southwesterly winds will persist, particularly for Wellington, Wairarapa, Northland and Auckland, keeping temperatures capped towards the end of the week.

– RNZ