Easterly set to deliver with usual persistence

Surface flooding on State Highway 35 at Rototahi just before Loisels Gorge, yesterday afternoon. Motorists were asked to take care as heavy rain brought surface flooding along SH 35 around Tolaga Bay. “Due to surface flooding in the area, road users are advised to take extra care when travelling along this route,” a Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency statement said. Later in the afternoon the state highway was closed from Okitu to Ruatoria. Picture by Liam Clayton

East Coast residents fearful of further rain had a foretaste of the next bout of bad weather yesterday afternoon, and the result was swift with surface flooding and rivers rising.

After a few hours of heavy downpour the Hikuwai River at Tolaga Bay had rapidly risen from 2.8 metres to just over 4m.

The inland ranges received a downpour of 40 to 50mm in just a couple of hours.

Yesterday, like Pyotr and the Wolf, MetService came back with another Orange Heavy Rain Warning, for the area about and north of Tolaga Bay.

The official weather agency says there is high confidence rainfall  will reach warning criteria about Tairāwhiti/Gisborne from Friday to Sunday.

The warning for the period from 3pm yesterday to 3pm today forecast 100 to 140 millimetres of rain in the ranges, and 60 to 90 mm of rain about the coast.

Thunderstorms are also possible and peak rainfall intensities could be around 15 to 25 mm an hour.

MetService warns heavy rain will return early tomorrow and spread throughout the region.

“This will be a prolonged period of wet weather for eastern parts and could cause surface flooding in already sodden areas and activate slips regardless of whether warning amounts occur.

“Heavy rain is expected to continue through the weekend, with further warnings likely to be issued.”

The outlook does not see the rain ease until Monday.

As of  late yesterday afternoon Gisborne had had over 190mm of rain so far this month — almost double the 97mm average for June.

Sunshine hours are well down, at around 85 percent of normal, and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research rates the soils of Gisborne and its immediate surrounding area as “severely wet”.

Yesterday workers were still at the scene of slips in both the Waioeka Gorge and the Mahia Peninsula.

NZTA/Waka Kotahi advises that near Otoko a slip on Tuesday had blocked one lane, and traffic was being controlled there on a stop/go basis.

Meanwhile, access to the Mahia Peninsula has been affected by a series of slips on the coast’s roads since last weekend, and travellers need to consult the Wairoa District Council’s website to see the latest details.

At 4.30pm yesterday Waka Kotahi advised SH35 was closed between Okitu and Ruatoria.