Wednesday & Thursday (17th & 18th July)

The recent run of fine weather will continue for South Island ski fields, with just some high cloud and a light northeast breeze the only thing to note, aside from everyone loving the winter sunshine.

A weak storm system passing over the North Island will bring rain and high-level snow to Ruapehu late Wednesday into early Thursday. Conditions are still very threadbare there, especially on the upper mountain, where snow-making has been limited, so some high-level snow will be welcome despite a little damage to the snowpack lower down.

Friday & the Weekend (19th to 21st July)

A weak front will bring strong northwest winds and a little rain to South Island ski fields on Friday, which will fall as snow only about the tops. However, this will all fall at either end of the day, before and after lifts are running, although Treble Cone will likely see showers linger throughout the day.

The weekend will remain mostly dry for the South Island as strong northwest winds gradually weaken Saturday before southerlies develop Sunday. The only snow likely to fall will be at Treble Cone Saturday morning in the form of light snow showers, which will spill over the Main Divide as another weak front pushes in from the west. Also, Sunday will be a fairly cloudy day for the Southern Lakes as a whole.

Meanwhile, ski fields on Mt Ruapehu will still be waiting for their luck to turn as a couple of warm storm systems rolling over the North Island bring more rain. Heavy falls are also expected Friday night, damaging the thin and fragile snowpack.

Cold southwest winds are expected to bring light-moderate snowfall to both the North and South Islands between Monday, July 22nd, and Wednesday, July 24th. This will likely be followed by a couple of dry, settled days.

Thanks for reading. I'll continue to provide these forecasts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday throughout the southern hemisphere season.

Mike O'Connor