Late November South Island rain and wind

The story so far

MetService forecast a fine start to the week for most areas, including Christchurch, with rain and wind expected midweek and wild conditions predicted for the West Coast.^{24 Nov 2025} The North Island was forecast to be warm and humid.^{24 Nov 2025} A heat alert was also issued for Napier.^{26 Nov 2025} A deep low-pressure system moving across the lower South Island was forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds on the Sunday, with wind watches for Wellington, Canterbury and areas south of Middlemarch, and heavy rain watches for the Tasman ranges.^{29 Nov 2025}

Latest

Wind watches cover Wellington, Canterbury and areas south of Middlemarch, including Dunedin and Invercargill.^{29 Nov 2025}

What's next

The deep low is forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds on Sunday.^{29 Nov 2025}

Key moments

1. 24 Nov 2025Fine start forecast, but rain and wind expected midweek, with West Coast wild conditions.
2. 26 Nov 2025MetService issues orange heavy rain and strong wind warnings for West Coast, Tasman, Canterbury.
3. 26 Nov 2025Potential rainfall totals of up to 230mm forecast for some South Island areas.
4. 29 Nov 2025Deep low-pressure system forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds on Sunday.
5. 29 Nov 2025Wind watches issued for Wellington, Canterbury and areas south of Middlemarch.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.