By rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission
Wild weather, including severe gales and downpours, swept from the west across much of the North Island overnight.
The wet northerly was still hitting eastern Bay of Plenty on Monday morning, an orange severe rain warning remaining in place for the region.
Fire and Emergency said there were no major weather-related callouts anywhere overnight.
About 230mm of rain fell on Kahurangi National Park in west Tasman. Other South Island locations including Arthur’s Pass and Rai Valley in Marlborough saw up to 130mm.
“It was definitely a very wild night compared to that really settled spell of weather we had last week,” meteorologist John Law told RNZ’s Morning Report.
“I think for most people when they wake up this morning across the North Island, they’ll notice how incredibly warm it is as well.”
Law said most of the warnings had expired, with the rain moving east.
“The final few areas… are still catching that front just that runs through places like the Eastern Bay of Plenty, and we will keep hold that severe weather warning there through to around about 11am, just so that rain just taking its time just to clear away, out towards the west.
“But generally things should get a little bit better as we head through the daytime.”
Temperatures will get up to around 17C in Auckland, Law said, after an “incredibly warm” morning for mid-June.
“I think it is going to stay pretty humid through [the] daytime. Still some more showers as we head through the day, and this week generally a much more unsettled story than the weather we saw last week.”
Down south, snow was a possibility in higher parts of Southland and Otago.
“So it’s a real mixed bag across the country – [you] don’t need your winter woollies today, but maybe from tomorrow I think we don’t need them across the North Island, but down south, I think keep an eye on that forecast.”
Later in the week, MetService is forecasting potential heavy rain on the west coast of the South Island, particularly in the far south and Marlborough, on Thursday.
By Friday, there could be gale-strength winds across the North Island and upper South Island.