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Heavy rain and severe winds are expected to be hit parts of the country tomorrow as Cyclone Funa moves south.
Metservice issued a severe weather warning, saying northerly winds were forecast to reach potentially damaging force between Taranaki and Nelson.
Rain was also expected to become heavy overnight
in the mountains and ranges from Mount Taranaki to Westland.
Metservice spokesman Bob McDavitt said the cyclone could also bring a storm surge.
"Funa is no longer a tropical cyclone, but it is still a deep low and has tightly compacted isobars near its centre," he said
"This low pressure centre is expected to cross northern parts of the South Island on Tuesday.
"The pressure pattern will become distorted by the mountains and the strongest winds are likely over southern parts of the North Island and about the Marlborough coast."
Strong onshore winds were forecast in the Nelson and Kapiti regions tomorrow morning with the storm likely to reach the Nelson and Buller coasts in the afternoon.
Mr McDavitt said the combined effect of these may add about a third of a metre to the sea level, especially in Golden Bay and Tasman Bay.
"People in the affected areas should brace for Funa."
Central areas, such as Wellington, the Kapiti Coast, Wairarapa, southern Hawke's Bay and exposed parts of Marlborough, were likely to be affected by severe winds changes as well.
The wet weather is unlikely to bring relief to drought-stricken regions.
MetService forecaster Bob Lake earlier said rain starting overnight in Northland would likely spread to Auckland and the Bay of Plenty today, bringing some brief heavy falls that will last into tomorrow.
But things change quickly then with fairly humid and rainy conditions giving way to showers as the low crosses the South Island.
The weather would improve by Thursday or Friday, said Mr Lake.
But in the meantime, Northland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne will be under heavy rain watches today. The wet will at least bring some relief to residents of Whangamata, which has had hosing and sprinkler restrictions.
But vital moisture will not reach places in dire need of rain such as Canterbury or Otago.
"All the computer guidance we've got suggests there really won't be large amounts of rain getting into those areas. And that also goes for places like Wairarapa - all those eastern areas that really need the rain don't look as if they're going to end up with a great deal out of this.
"Most of the rain will be on the western and northern part of the South Island and mostly around the centre of the North Island, Northern Taranaki and possibly Bay of Plenty ranges.
Even places like Northland and Auckland are probably not going to end up with large amounts of rain by the look of it."
Niwa has been recording dry soil this summer. With the exception of Northland, the North Island is drier than it should be.
Wairarapa dairy farmer Stewart Barton said: "The sheep industry's quite desperate at the moment. The prices are not good. Beef's carrying it a little bit but when you start running out of feed, you run out of feed probably first with beef animals."
Some good rains in December were just a "catch-up".
"There's been events like this in the past, no doubt about it. But we're under a lot of pressure to make our business perform."
EARLY TO RISE, EARLY TO FINISH
Roofers and builders have been finishing work sooner than normal because of the sweltering weather.
Brian Foord of Concept Roofing in Auckland said high temperatures put workers at severe risk of sunburn and dehydration.
"Some of the contractors are getting up there at six in the morning," said Mr Foord. "But with the heat some of the guys have had to knock off a bit earlier because they get it twice as bad on a metal roof."
Pat O'Sullivan, manager of Auckland property renovation service Wellkept, said his team were also beginning their day earlier. But the team, who do "all sorts of renovations including roof work", were taken out of the midday sun for nearly three hours each day.
- with NZPA
