Weather miserable rather than wild

The Northland Regional Council’s Kaeo River cam shows the patio behind Kaeo Fire Station was flooded just after 6am yesterday but State Highway 10 stayed above water. Photo / NRC

Only a week before Christmas and Northland is being subjected to steady rain, thunder and lightning, wind gusts and some road surface flooding.

But despite parts of the region being hit with the most rainfall at this time of year since 1975, the weather has been miserable rather than the wild stuff forecast.

At least three roads were closed in the Far North yesterday but otherwise escaped serious flooding despite more heavy rain.

The Kaeo River peaked early yesterday - high tide was at 4.15am - but State Highway 10 remained open.

Omaunu Rd, which connects State Highway 10 and Kaeo Hospital, was passable only to four-wheel-drive vehicles yesterday.

Orakau Rd, off Mangakahia Rd south of Kaikohe, as well as Pukepoto Rd and Karaka Rd, near Okaihau, were closed due to flooding.

Flooding was reported on SH1 at Callaghan Rd, south of Kawakawa, but the road remained open. Rawhiti Rd was affected by a slip but remained passable.

The wet weather comes just two days before new Transport Minister Simon Bridges is due to tour Northland to see the region's roading problems first-hand.

In Whangarei, the days of constant rain marked a year with the second wettest winter on record, beaten only by the drought-breaker winter of 1946, MetService meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said.

Northland's mid-eastern flank has been hardest hit this week, with Puhipuhi catching the region's highest rainfall of 225mm between Saturday and Tuesday, and Glenbervie 225mm.

In just under 12 hours between midnight to midday yesterday, a further 60mm fell at Glenbervie and 42mm at Puhipuhi before the rain eased and thunderstorms, at one stage forecast to be severe in Northland, moved further south.

The week's unseasonable fare had come towards the end of a warmer, wetter year than normal, characterised by back-to-back extremes, Ms Griffiths said.

Conditions swung from extremely dry at the start of the year to record wet during winter and into spring.