Northerly then southerly gales

Time to be blown this way, then that. Here's the latest from the MetService:

Severe Weather Warning - Northerly gales tonight

Northerly gales are forecast from this evening through to dawn on Saturday. The strongest winds are expected between about 10pm Friday and 4am Saturday, when severe gale gusts of 120 km/h are likely in exposed places.

Winds of this strength have the potential to damage trees, powerlines and insecure structures and make driving hazardous, especially for high sided vehicles and motorcycles.

Special Weather Advisory - Cold southerly gales for Sunday & Monday

Strong, cold south to southwest winds are also expected from Sunday afternoon to Monday evening. These cold winds are expected to reach gale force for a time near the coast and especially about Banks Peninsula, coastal Marlborough, Wellington and coastal Wairarapa. Snowfall amounts in these areas are expected to be modest, but could affect higher roads above 300 metres in Canterbury and eastern Marlborough and above 500 metres over central and southern parts of the North Island. This includes the Rimutaka Hill road and many of the roads leading through the Central Plateau.


So if you are planning on driving over to the Wairarapa on Sunday, or up the centre of the North Island, you should be packing some extra gear, just in case you get stuck, like folks did this time last year on the Napier/Taupo Rd - http://poriruaemo.blogspot.com/2009/10/one-month-into-spring.html