By 1news.co.nz
A low and its fronts crossing the country from late tonight will see northern and western parts of both islands experience heavy rain.
MetService says most of the country will see some rain tomorrow but these areas will “bear the brunt of the heavier rain”.
Heavy rain watches issued by MetService for the North Island yesterday have been upgraded, with downpours to begin from this afternoon.
The watches in Northland and Bay of Plenty have all been upgraded to orange heavy rain warnings.
Both regions can also expect thunderstorms and peak rainfall rates of 15 to 25mm an hour.
Bay of Plenty east of Whakatāne, including Gisborne north of Tokomaru Bay, can expect the worst rainfall with 100 to 140mm about the ranges and 50 to 80mm nearer to the coast from 10am tomorrow until 3am on Tuesday.
West of Whakatāne, including Rotorua, may see 60 to 90mm of rain between 5am and 9pm tomorrow..
Northland meanwhile can expect 50 to 80mm of rain from 3pm today until 6am tomorrow, mainly in northern and eastern parts.
A heavy rain watch has been put in place for Coromandel and Buller from midnight tonight and 5am respectively, with rainfall amounts possibly approaching orange-level warning criteria in both regions.
Heavy rain watches put in place yesterday for Auckland, Mount Taranaki, Richmond and Bryant ranges and Fiordland remain in place through to late Monday and mid-Tuesday.
MetService advises people to stay up to date its latest weather watches and warnings on its website.
