This episode featured as part of the Weather segment in partnership with HawkEye Pro from Ravensdown. 

Westerly winds will crank up from mid to late October, driving gales and heavier rainfall on the West Coast.

Two southwest changes bring a colder fortnight first, Blue Skies Weather forecaster Tony Trewinnard says. The first puts snow on some South Island hills and brings the chance of a heavy frost in the east on Thursday morning, with a second, colder change and the chance of low-level snow on the plains over the weekend. Vineyards in Canterbury, Otago, Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay are most exposed.

“Your frost protection’s got to be a priority at the moment,” Trewinnard says.

“If you’ve got vulnerable stock, if you’re lambing, calving, and you’ve got stock that could be compromised by a two-day period of cold temperatures, significant wind chill, snow on the ground, then you need to be looking at giving them some sort of protection,” he says.

There is little relief ahead for Southland and Otago.

“You’re likely to see these persistent periods of west to southwesterly airflow continue through spring and through summer.”

Fine breaks will be brief and infrequent, and the east is drying the other way.

“Places like Gisborne and Wairarapa are drying out faster than Canterbury is,” he says, with an even chance of moisture limiting pasture growth by early to mid-November and a one in four risk of drought by early December.

Your weather update — brought to you by HawkEye Pro from Ravensdown. Next‑gen tech, backed by forty years of soil science, delivering insights every ten metres to lift farm efficiency and sustainability — and drive profitability. HawkEye Pro. The proof is in the paddock.

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.

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