More Rain To Come

MetService have just cancelled their Severe Thunderstorm Watch which covered the Wellington to Taranaki area overnight and on Monday morning. Meteorologists are expecting more rain to affect northern and eastern areas later this week.

"This morning's event was caused by a compact weather low rolling along a stalled cold front," commented MetService Weather Ambassador, Bob McDavitt.

"Winds gusted up to 150 km/hr at Rimutaka summit and over 110 km/hr around Wellington and Kaikoura. Rain was most intense in the Tararua Ranges this morning, where a Wellington Regional Council rain gauge measured 150 mm in the six hours ending 11am, with a peak rain rate of 35 mm/hr."

Mr. McDavitt added that the cold front is likely to shift further north and that another weather low may roll along it and cross central New Zealand on Wednesday.

"Our Severe Weather Outlook maps, available on metservice.com, suggest high accumulations of rain are possible in areas from Northland to Bay of Plenty, including parts of Auckland, and also for northwestern Nelson. This event is likely to bring widespread rain over the North Island and to the north and east of the South Island."

This rain could be intense enough to produce localised flooding and slips especially between the Bay of Islands and the Bay of Plenty. Driving conditions were hazardous in central areas this morning and may be hazardous in many northern and eastern areas on Wednesday and Thursday.

ENDS

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