Whangārei to see the sun after six months’ worth of rain in six weeks

A yacht buffeted by Cyclone Gabrielle's strong winds yesterday. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A mostly fine day is expected for Northland as the region mops up after Cyclone Gabrielle’s downpours and strong gales.

The cyclone was just the latest period of wet weather in an incredibly rainy year. In just 45 days, 700 millimetres of rain has fallen in Whangārei.

In an average year, that is the amount that would fall between the start of the year and mid-July, MetService meteorologist Andrew James said.

In the 24 hours to 3pm yesterday, 74.2mm fell at Whangārei Airport, in addition to 161mm in the previous 24 hours.

Niwa also recorded a huge amount of rain during the cyclone. The agency posted on social media that Whangārei had its wettest February day ever on Monday, according to their weather stations’ data.

The downpours caused havoc as many landslides and slips unfolded around the district. Some residents on Whareora Rd had to be evacuated around midday on Tuesday, after a slip on Mount Parihaka clogged a waterway leading to the Hātea River, which then flooded nearby properties.

James said other parts of Northland were also on the receiving end of huge downpours and gales.

“There are many places that have had just an incredible quantity of rain from this system and the wind has been really strong as well.”

Some isolated rural stations recorded very large amounts of rainfall. The station of Brookvale between Dargaville and Kaikohe received 174mm in the 24 hours to 12pm, and a station near Paparoa received 155mm.

The heavy downpours hit hard in Dargaville as around 300 residents in low-lying and vulnerable areas had been evacuated by 6pm in a race against high tide at 7pm.

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson described the feat as “a tough day” for his district.

Evacuations began in the early hours of Tuesday morning after the Awakino River on the northern outskirts of the township burst its banks.

Residents closest to River Rd and Mangawhare were the first asked to evacuate, followed later in the day by Finlayson Park Ave locals in Ruawai.

The move was a precautionary step by Jepson as parts of Dargaville were already underwater and high tide was expected to bring an even greater rise in water levels.

“No doubt there will be many lessons learned when all this is over but right now our focus is on getting on with what needs to be done,” he said.

Emergency services - police, Fire and Emergency staff, the Armed Forces, and volunteer surf lifeguards - were supporting council staff working around the clock trying to ensure the safety of locals.

“I also want to acknowledge the great lengths people are going to to clear the roads and get the power back on,” Jepson said.

The situation further north had proved drier as less rain was recorded in the Far North, with 53mm falling in Kaitāia over the last 48 hours. Kerikeri received 113mm over the same period.

Wind gusts have also been strong across the region over the last few days, with one gust of 140 km/h recorded at Cape Rēinga on Sunday.

There was also a gust of 102 km/h recorded at Whangārei Airport yesterday, and one of 128 km/h at Tutukaka.

MetService’s strong wind warning for Northland expired at 9pm last night, and the heavy rain warning at 1pm yesterday.

James said strong winds this morning - which would not be at warning level - were expected to ease over the course of the day.

“We see a largely fine day across Northland. There could be the odd shower around, especially in the north in the afternoon,” he said.

“But it looks like a real easing trend in the weather, with a bit of wind around in the morning, gradually easing off as the day goes on.”

The next few days would be similar across the region, James said, with periods of sunshine and scattered showers.

Even in Whangārei, people should see the sun.

At this stage, MetService is predicting sunny days in Whangārei on Friday and Monday, and partly cloudy days with showers in between.