Cyclone Evan could dampen Christmas

MIGHT BE A WET ONE: The remains of Cyclone Evan may bring rain to Manawatu on Christmas Day, latest forecasts suggest.

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The remains of tropical Cyclone Evan could bring rain to Manawatu on Christmas Day, latest forecasts suggest.

Evan wreaked havoc in Samoa and Fiji, and MetService is predicting heavy rain for the north of the North Island on Sunday, but it also said Evan's track remained very uncertain beyond Friday.

MetService forecaster John Law said Christmas Day was forecast to be hot, but there could be some rain as a result of the cyclone.

Temperatures in the high 20s were predicted along with stronger showers than those that fell over the last day.

Law said a high pressure system would dominate the country over the next few days bringing settled weather.

But the weather would become more unsettled in Manawatu over the weekend and leading into Christmas as what was left of tropical cyclone Evan moved further south, he said.

Chief forecaster Peter Kreft said that as Evan drew closer to the country over the next couple of days, MetService would expect to be able to say more.

"A small change in the expected track of Evan could result in a large change in the weekend's forecast for just about any North Island place," Kreft said.

- © Fairfax NZ News