People are being told to prepare for flooding, slips and destruction from strong winds in the north. There's likely to be more snow chaos in the south and widespread travel disruption across New Zealand.
MetService says Auckland is on course for up to three hours of heavy weather late this afternoon and into the evening - right in time for rush-hour traffic.
The region has been put under a strong wind warning with 100km/h northeast gales set to hit the city as thousands of workers head home from work.
A MetService forecast chart shows two-thirds of the day's 31.7mm rainfall will fall between 4pm and 10pm.
As the storm tracks down the country some of the worst weather is expected to be unleashed over the already sodden Bay of Plenty with the region bracing for up to 110mm of rain in the space of 12 hours overnight.
Alerts have been issued by Civil Defence to prepare for flooding with the heaviest downpours expected to fall east of Opotiki.
"Beware of hazardous driving conditions, with slips and surface flooding possible. For those of you just getting into calving, remember the ground is already quite wet, take care in the paddocks and make sure you have a mate who can tow you out," Bay of Plenty Civil Defence said on their Facebook page.
Tomorrow is expected to usher in the worst of the winter storm as it stalls over Canterbury and Otago bringing snow down to 400m. As well as snow parts of Canterbury are expecting more than a month's worth of rain in a day.
MetService said the heaviest falls were expected in Canterbury and eastern Otago, including Dunedin, where up to 160mm of rain was expected to fall tomorrow.
Forecasters warned the combination of heavy rain and strong wind was expected to cause widespread travel disruption, flooding and slips and damage to trees, powerlines, unsecured roofs and structures.
