[ad_1]
Cyclone Hale is now tracking to hit Northland and the Auckland region first before moving into the north-east of the country.
Some heavy rain watches in the North Island have been updated to warnings as the weather system’s path was updated on Monday evening.
A heavy rain warning was issued for Northland south of the Bay of Islands and Auckland including Great Barrier Island for 19 hours starting at 11pm.
Rain between 90 and 120mm was expected in the area, though the heaviest rain was expected to be north of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.
READ MORE:
* Cyclone Hale set to bring downpours, wind to eastern North Island
* Coromandel and Bay of Plenty to bear the brunt of Cyclone Cody
* Heavy swells in east, strong gales, as Tropical Cyclone Gretel passes to north of country
The weather system is forecast to bring extensive heavy rain and gale force winds through to Thursday morning.
Strong wind watches were also issued for Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island from early on Tuesday morning.
The first signs of the weather system arrived in the form of rain in the Coromandel holiday hotspot of Tairua late Monday.
Gisborne had wet weather all day, while the southern ranges of the Coromandel already had 20mm of rain as of 9pm, MetService forecaster Sonja Farmer said.
Civil Defence had warned the tropical low could be “a significant event with widespread effects” for areas across the east coast of the North Island.
The storm that was forecast by MetService to last several days was expected to cause coastal damage, slips, surface flooding, road closures and power cuts.
Heavy rain was expected in Coromandel Peninsula for 24 hours from 10pm on Monday, Gisborne for 28 hours from 10pm on Monday, and in Hawke’s Bay for 17 hours from 3pm on Tuesday, MetService said.
The heaviest rain was forecast in Gisborne, where 200mm to 250mm was expected. Large waves were expected to hit eastern coastlines from Northland to Wairarapa on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency also warned that slips and flooding may force it to close state highways across the North Island, while strong wind might affect the Auckland Harbour Bridge on Tuesday and Wednesday.
First drops of rain
Now classified as a tropical low by MetService, the weather system was scheduled to make landfall on Tuesday bringing with it warnings of heavy rain, gale or severe gale winds and hazardous coastal conditions, the forecaster said.
At the surf life-saving club in Tairua, regional manager Josh Coombridge said that although the call would be made on Tuesday morning, it was almost certain the beach would close.
“We’ll assess it in the morning, but I would think every beach in the east of the Coromandel area would be closed tomorrow. They [MetService] are forecasting storm surges, heavy rainfall which will make the rivers high… So that will make the beaches unsafe to swim at,” he said.
The warning from Coombridge to potential beachgoers was unequivocal.
“I want to emphasise that tomorrow and Wednesday aren’t beach days.”
Be a good neighbour
Tairāwhiti Civil Defence warned people to be prepared and check on their neighbours.
“We are asking people delay travel and stay off the roads if you can,” the area’s civil defence and emergency manager Ben Green said.
“With the amount of rain we’ve had, the land is saturated and there could be slips around the region.”
Mr Green says the heavy rain forecast could also bring flash floods.
All unsealed roads were closed to heavy freight trucks for 24 hours from 8pm on Monday, to minimise the impact to the unsealed road network.
Forestry companies also blocked access to private roads with their staff checking sites over the weekend for slips and slash.
Holiday-makers have left Tolaga Bay, north of Gisborne, in anticipation of the cyclone.
Dion Milner, who manages the Tolaga Bay Holiday Park, said most guests packed up and left after he shared the forecast with them during the weekend.
“We’ve got a few hardy ones staying on, but most have gone,” he said.
Gisborne residents Matt and Sophie Lyell were moving belongings in their garage to higher places and locating sandbags.
Lyell said recent rain meant the land was already saturated, with no capacity to soak up any more.
“We get a good 15 centimetres [of water] across the whole section, so we naturally get pretty anxious whenever these storms hit,” he said.
Coromandel braces for the worst
Thames-Coromandel Civil Defence controller Gary Towler said Cyclone Hale would “hit hard” and would likely cause coastal damage as well as slips, surface flooding and power outages.
“We are not sugar-coating this one – it will hit hard and likely cause coastal damage as well as the usual slips, surface flooding and power outages,” Towler said.
MetService is forecasting 150mm to 200mm of rain for the Coromandel Peninsula until 9pm Tuesday.
MetService meteorologist Peter Little said Cyclone Hale originated in the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia. That area was a common spot for cyclones to form during seasons affected by La Niña conditions, Little said.
Beginning as a tropical cyclone, Hale has since been downgraded by MetService, but remains a significant weather system and continues to be referred to as Cyclone Hale.
The cyclone, the first of the 2023 season in the South Pacific, was named by the Fiji Meterological Service on Sunday morning.
Sodden weather has been plaguing the country since the New Year. Many experienced a water-logged weekend and in the Coromandel, wet weather had driven holidaymakers away and triggered slips that closed highways.
Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence emergency group controller Ian Macdonald said there were varying models showing where exactly the cyclone was tracking.
“The key thing, really, is that people should be hunkering down and staying at home if they can. Stay away from the coast and waterways”.
The swell was expected to reach up to 5.5 metres on Tuesday evening, he said.
[ad_2]
Source link