Firefighters have dealt with 67 weather-related jobs overnight in the north of the country as a raft of severe weather advisories have been issued for the North Island.
Torrential downpours hit parts of Auckland and Coromandel overnight, bringing “damaging” amounts of rain to some spots, according to MetService.
MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon said the highest hourly rainfall was in Leigh, just north of Warkworth, where 81mm fell between 9-10pm.
More than 40mm in an hour is considered torrential rain.
The most flood-related callouts to the fire service came from East Auckland as heavy rain battered the city. Flooding has also been reported in the Coromandel, where thunderstorms remained over the Kaimai Ranges just before 6am, Wotherspoon said.
Northern firefighters responded to 67 weather-related call outs between 11pm and 2am, Fire and Emergency shift manager Josh Pennefather said.
Central East Auckland suburbs were most affected, with other callouts in South Auckland.
Most of the jobs were related to flooding and leaking buildings, but no one was evacuated, Pennefather said.
There were also 28 alarm activations in commercial buildings due to water ingress.
Parts of the country are bracing for a wet and wild couple of days – with heavy rain and thunderstorms set to arrive today, ahead of the official beginning of winter next week.
The northern and eastern North Island were expected to wake to heavy rain watches and warnings in effect as a “complex” low-pressure system approaches New Zealand with an extended band of rain.
MetService meteorologist Dom Barry said the “Tasman Sea Special” would see rain continue for most of the working week in the North Island.
Hawke’s Bay is in the firing line, with an orange heavy rain warning issued for 36 hours from 6am today. Barry said 120 to 160mm of rain is expected to fall, with peak rates potentially reaching 15mm to 25mm an hour this morning and afternoon.
Further rain is forecast to lash the region on Thursday and Friday, so the warning may be extended.
MetService warned this could cause rivers to rise rapidly, with the heaviest falls likely centred south of State Highway 5.
“Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous.”
A heavy rain watch for Auckland and Great Barrier Island was set to lapse at 6am today and further watches for Coromandel and Bay of Plenty would end at 9am and midday respectively.
Rain watches for Gisborne, Wairarapa and Tararua District will remain in place throughout the day and into Wednesday morning.
Federated Farmers has welcomed the expected rain for Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, where soils are dry going into winter.
But MetService says there are concerns about flash flooding if too much rain falls on dry, hard ground.
Barry said surface flooding across Hawke’s Bay was highly probable.
“With these heavy downpours, we can expect to see some surface flooding. We need to make sure we get our people out there driving and staying safe when they are out and about.”
MetService said the low-pressure system and associated cool temperatures in the upper atmosphere, were expected to lead to unstable conditions in several North Island areas today.
For southern Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne, there is a moderate risk of thunderstorms during the morning. A moderate risk of thunderstorms also develops about Northland after midday.
Strong easterly to southeasterly winds are also expected in the central North Island today, with a possibility of severe gales about the ranges from the Raukumara to Ruahine ranges and further west.
However, most other parts of New Zealand would have a drier-than-usual week for the time of year.
“As the low moves southeastwards across the motu, we can expect areas such as Marlborough and Northern Canterbury to encounter some wet weather from Tuesday, with the rain mainly remaining in the eastern North Island.
“Meanwhile, in [the] South Island, west of the main divide is becoming fine on Tuesday and is the place to be – now’s the time to soak up some sunshine,” Barry said.
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