A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
The rain warning for the top of the district has been upgraded to Orange Status, and MetService says peak rainfall could be intense.
The expected downpour is the result of the North Island being caught between a deep low off the west of the South Island, and a high off
East Cape.
This is pulling a strong, wet northerly airstream down from the subtropics to the Bay of Plenty.
The latest forecast this morning was for the Bay of Plenty east of Opotiki, including East Cape north of Ruatoria, to receive between 80 and 120 millimetres by 11pm tonight.
MetService says peak intensities were expected this afternoon -around 15-20mm an hour.
