Heavy rain warning issued for North Island

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More heavy rain is forecast for the North Island, with Gisborne and Hawke's Bay set for a deluge today.

MetService has issued a heavy rain warning for the eastern North Island regions as a low pressure system to the east of the island pushes a moist easterly flow onto the eastern regions.

In the Gisborne region south of Gisborne city and about the Wairoa District of Hawke's Bay, 70 to 90mm of rain is expected to accumulate from this morning until the evening, MetService said.

Up to 20mm of rain per hour is possible.

This amount of rain can make rivers and streams rise rapidly, cause slips and could make driving conditions hazardous.

Heavy rain is also expected about the Kaikoura Ranges today through to tomorrow.
Yesterday heavy rain brought flash flooding to parts of Auckland and the eastern Bay of Plenty.

The Fire Service received about 150 calls within an hour as the downpour reached Auckland about 1pm, as houses were flooded, roads were closed and power was also cut across the city.

Fire Service Northern Communications spokesperson Steve Smith said there were also about 20 callouts for flooding incidents in Waihi last night, while just down the road, the northbound lane of State Highway 2 was close at Katikati.

Meanwhile SH73 Porters Pass is closed to towing vehicles due to snow. MetService says a few snow showers are possible on the road above 700m this morning, however the snow is not expected to accumulate on the road.

The AA is also reporting icy conditions on many Southland and Otago roads this morning, including sections of State Highways 6 and 8.

- Herald Online