The sudden rain that has hit Tauranga has followed an unusually dry May and is a sign that winter is coming, according to a climate scientist.
Wet weather set in over the last few days in Tauranga and MetService issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain this morningin theBay of Plenty region.
Niwa climate scientist Nava Fedaeff said the month until the rain had been unusually dry and a "miserable start" to winter was to be expected.
Until the rain had set in, Tauranga had been heading for the second driest May on record, while Te Puke was headed for the driest, she said.
The usual amount of rain for the month of May was 110mm, measured at the Tauranga Airport. Until the recent rain, Tauranga had received 19mm of rain - less than 20 per cent of the normal amount.
A Tauranga City Council spokeswoman said the council had received no reports of wet-weather damage or incidents.
Weather forecast
Today 20C High 12C Overnight Periods of rain, chance heavy with thunderstorms, easing to a few showers late afternoon. Northerlies turn fresh northwest.
Tomorrow 20C High 11C Overnight Fine, but chance shower before dawn. Westerly breezes dying out afternoon.
Thursday 20C High 14C Overnight Cloud increasing. Northerly developing afternoon.
