Meanwhile, heavy rain is pounding parts of the North Island, with weather watches in place for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato and Waitomo until 8pm Saturday.
MetService told people to expect possible downpours and thunderstorms.
The amount of rain “may approach warning criteria and may even exceed warning amounts in localised areas”, the forecaster said.
A heavy rain watch was also in place for Taupō and Bay of Plenty, including Rotorua, until 11pm Saturday.
RNZ