Heavy Gisborne rainfall comes in bursts as watch put in place

Surface flooding at the intersection of Derby St and Gladstone Rd in downtown Gisborne on Thursday.

MetService predicted “occasional rain, heavy at times” for the district on Thursday and that is exactly what the city and other areas of Tairāwhiti got.

It came in bursts of heavy downpours during the day, including in the city centre.

In the first of those, a Gisborne District Council rain gauge in Stout St recorded just over 20.8mm in an hour.

A MetService “Heavy Rain Watch” for Wairoa, Gisborne and the area up to Tolaga Bay remained in place until midnight.

“Periods of heavy rain, and amounts may approach warning criteria. Moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning” was how MetService saw it.

Rain water near knee-deep covers half the road on Derby St.

The 2pm rainfall readings on the council website on Thursday showed 41mm in Stout St, 18 at the Wheatstone Rd and Paraone Rd sites, and 16mm at Gisborne Airport.

Ūawa picked up 26.6mm in an hour early Thursday afternoon as the southerly falls headed up the East Coast.

In the CBD, the heavy rain caused some surface flooding in places as drains and guttering failed to cope with the inundation of water.

Yards in some homes turned into lakes for a time.

There were short periods of reprieve before more heavy showers later in the afternoon.