Heavy rain arrives ahead of wet week for North Island

Heavy rain has begun to fall in Northland and it’s expected the bad weather will spread to Auckland overnight and then further south.

A wet week is ahead for most of the country as a subtropical low descends on the North Island, bringing with it heavy rain and strong winds.

MetService has issued a number of weather watches and warnings across much of the upper half of the North Island.

Heavy rain warnings are in place for Northland, Auckland from Whangaparaoa northwards, the Coromandel Peninsula and the western Bay of Plenty between Sunday night and Tuesday, with up to 120-160mm of rain expected in places.

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In Auckland south of Whangaparaoa, MetService has issued a heavy rain watch between 5am Monday and 2pm Tuesday.

Tasman and Marlborough will also see heavy rain at the start of the week, with rain watches in place between Monday afternoon and midday Tuesday.

Much of the country will also see a wet and windy week.

Wind warnings have been issued for Northland and Auckland for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and wind watches are in place for the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel Peninsula, Eastern Waikato and Buller. Winds may approach severe gale in exposed places.

Rain should ease to showers later in the week for Auckland and Northland, with next weekend shaping up to be fine apart from a few showers further North.

MetService meteorologist David Miller said the low pressure system is expected to continue moving slowly down the country throughout the week, and rainfall may reach warning criteria in parts of the South Island.

Christchurch should expect a week of rain followed by a dry weekend. Heavy rain watches and warnings may be issued for Canterbury later in the week, said Miller.

After being battered by a severe storm on Friday that caused large swells, slips and road closures, Wellington is forecast to see some periods of rain followed by a settled end to the week.

Weather warnings and watches are likely to change as the low pressure system moves down the country, so MetService advises people to stay up to date with the latest weather forecast and warnings in their area.