Malé, Maldives

Weather Underground Forecast for Wednesday, May 23, 2012.

Wet weather continues in Japan on Wednesday as a low pressure system located along the east coast of Honshu lifts northward. As the system curves up the northeastern coast of Honshu to the eastern coast of Hokkaido, winds wrapping around the system and an associated warm front will spread moisture into northern Honshu and Hokkaido through the day, allowing light to moderate rain showers to form in much of the northern tip of Honshu and Hokkaido. Heightened instability may also stir up clusters of thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening. As the system departs northward, drier air will spread into Honshu, allowing chances of precipitation to taper down throughout the day.

To the west, high pressure centered in the East China Sea will continue to dominate much of the Korean Peninsula with dry conditions and fair skies. Expect a modest cooling trend in the region through the mid-week as the system weakens. Meanwhile, to the north, a weak cold front associated with a low pressure system in the northeastern provinces of China will bring showers to the coastal areas of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and northern North Korea.

To the south,low pressure spreads widely scattered rain showers, bands of locally heavy rain and thunderstorms across much of southeastern China. Much of Guangdong and Fujian are expected to remain under calm conditions.

For Australia, high pressure in the Tasman Sea provides generally calm conditions to New South Wales and much of Queensland during the day. Expect increasing clouds and a few light coastal showers are anticipated along the Queensland coast. Precipitation in New South Wales and Queensland will pick during the latter half of the day through Thursday as a trough of low pressure becomes the dominant feature of eastern Australia. To the south, a cold front in the Great Australian Bight brings rain to Tasmania, Victoria, and southeastern South Australia as it pushes inland.