Rain heavy at times will today affect the North Island then clears east on Thursday. A brief high rolls in for Friday and Saturday with lighter winds and drier skies. However another low with subtropical rain will affect the upper North Island this Sunday and Monday.
Widespread fog caused travel chaos in and out of Auckland Airport this morning.
Fog restrictions at Auckland Airport have now been lifted but approximately 24 domestic flights were delayed and 25 cancelled this morning.
Seven international flights were also slightly delayed, but all have now left Auckland.
Passengers are advised to check flight arrivals and departures on the Auckland Airport website or phone app.
Auckland Transport was earlier advising motorists to maintain a safe driving distance on the roads.
Between 1pm and 2pm, Niwa's Mangere weather station recorded 25.4mm of rain. The deluge was part of a miserable afternoon of rain that caused havoc on roads across Auckland until showers cleared about 4pm as the weather system moved towards Bay of Plenty.
At Pukekohe, a police officer helped a disabled girl and her mother who were caught in a flooded car.
Constable Graham Eddy said: "When I arrived the water was up to the windscreen and the woman driver and her daughter were still in there, so I just took it upon myself to offer them assistance I guess." The pair in the car had to stand on its seats as the water rose and the girl became distressed. She was carried to safety by the woman's partner, who arrived as the drama unfolded.
Flooding in Onehunga yesterday after torrential rain. Photo / Supplied
Fire Service spokesman Jaron Philips said 100 calls were received from Te Atatu Peninsula to Tuakau for flooding-related incidents.
"It was fierce and fast moving," he said. "It was quite busy for us, but not at the worst end of the scale of what we have seen."
In Pukekohe, three people were rescued from a car caught in water on Subway Rd. In Waller St, Onehunga, a worker was trapped upstairs in a factory after the exit downstairs was flooded. "Waves" of floodwaters washed through on Beachcroft Ave.
The Dress Smart mall carpark was flooded, and residents beside the Onehunga Bay Lagoon had calf-deep water in their yards.
Small creeks rose swiftly and photos were posted to social media of gardens and streets swamped by muddy waters. Matipo Primary School in Te Atatu is expected to remain closed today after water got into buildings.
Onehunga Bay Lagoon, literally. Photo / Stefania Sarnecki
WeatherWatch analyst Philip Duncan said the localised rain was a result of subtropic air feeding the usual winter rain clouds.
"There was 100 per cent humidity, the rain clouds were quite literally forming over Auckland as the slow-moving band of rain was fed by the subtropics."
