People are being warned to brace for more heavy rain as the “largest weather system we’ve seen so far this year” ramps up across parts of the country.
MetService issued heavy rain watches and warnings yesterday, with a particular focus in the Tasman region, northwest of Motueka.
The forecaster said the top of the South Island —Tasman, Buller, and Marlborough— was in line for the highest rainfall accumulations, and the heaviest rainfall was still to come from Thursday afternoon and could lead to surface flooding, slips, and hazardous road conditions.
Orange heavy rain warnings were in effect for Northland, Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty west of Whakatāne, Bay of Plenty from Whakatāne eastwards and Gisborne north of Ruatoria, Tongariro National Park, Mount Taranaki/Taranaki Mounga, Tasman northwest of Motueka, Tararua Range, the ranges of Marlborough northwest of the Inland Kaikoura Range, including the Bryant Range and the Sounds, Buller District, Grey District and Westland District north of Harihari, the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers and ranges of the Westland District.
Heavy rain watches were also in place for Auckland including Great Barrier Island, Waikato, Waitomo, and Taumarunui, North Taranaki, Nelson and Tasman about and southeast of Motueka.
A strong wind watch was in place for South Taranaki, Whanganui, Taihape, and Chatham Islands.
The main rain band was expected to extend into the North Island from late Thursday into Friday, bringing large amounts of rain to northern and western regions. The heaviest rain was expected overnight in Northland and Friday morning around commute time for Auckland, extending to other areas throughout the day.
Metservice meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said this was “the largest weather system we’ve seen so far this year”.
“The warning areas are forecast for around a month’s worth of rain in about a day, so expect rivers to rise rapidly and surface flooding may cause disruption.”
Very wet 18 hours across the country
MetService meteorologist Heather Keats said some areas in the South Island had already had 80mm – 100mm of rain overnight. (Source: Breakfast)
Earlier, MetService meteorologist Heather Keats told Breakfast some areas in the South Island received as much as 100mm of rain overnight.
“Very wet for the north-west of the South Island, so places overnight like the north-west so think Tasman, the northwest of Motueka have had 80-100mm of rain in the last 12 hours. That’s set to ramp up as we move across the day.”
She said this weather was caused by “a deep low hanging out to the west off the coast of New Zealand… being fed by this warm, moist air from the nor-west”.
“So we’ve got all the fuel, we’ve got the big trough and we’ve got the whole setup for quite a widespread rain event and that’s what we’re going to see today, tonight and tomorrow.”
She said temperatures were “definitely mild for this time of year”, adding Auckland had a low of 19C.
Tasman braces for heavy rain
In a post to social media, Nelson Tasman Civil Defence urged people to be prepared for the heavy rain, particularly when driving.
It said New Zealand Transport Agency had issued a warning for drivers to “be prepared for wet weather driving and to take extra care on the roads”.
“Wet roads are slippery so please drive to the conditions – reduce speed, increase following distances, and avoid sudden braking. Please use headlights if visibility is poor.”
Keats said this region was expected to be hit hard.
“The one that we’re really focused on is Tasman, north-west of Motueka. That has a period of 31 hours, it expires at this stage 10am Friday, but that has a moderate chance of being upgraded to a red… they’re not made lightly.
She said there was “a lot of rain expected to fall in the ranges and that has obvious effects for the rivers”.
“We’re just not used to rain, we just haven’t had it,” she said.
Keats said as autumn was just beginning, some people may not have cleared their drains of newly-fallen leaves.
In a post to social media, Buller Emergency Management said yesterday that it expected there could be some surface flooding in Westport, and sandbags would be available for residents who have been flooded previously.
By the end of Friday, the heaviest rain was expected to have largely moved off the country, although it might linger in eastern Bay of Plenty. The weekend would be mostly dry, but some showers could still affect areas already hit by heavy rain, especially on Sunday.
