MetService meteorologist John Law said the thundery days today and tomorrow could also see winds pick up, with blustery conditions making air temperatures feel even cooler when they drop tonight.
“It’s certainly going to feel a bit more autumnal, [but] autumn is a season of great changeability and we’ve seen that with how our weather has flipped between very warm and humid to cold, windy spells,” Law said.
Road snowfall warnings have been issued for several South Island mountain passes and the Desert Rd after heavy rain warnings and watches in place earlier this week lapsed last night.
The Desert Rd could see about a centimetre of snow settle tomorrow morning, with snow showers expected above 900m about midnight tonight.
MetService also issued road snowfall warnings for Lewis Pass, Arthur’s Pass, Porters Pass, Lindis Pass, the Crown Range Rd and Milford Rd. The earliest warnings begin at 4pm today through to 7am tomorrow at the latest.
A heavy snow watch was issued for the northern hills of Southland, parts of Otago and the MacKenzie Country, in place from 4pm today until 2am on Thursday.
Law said the plummeting temperatures would be a stark contrast to the weather of the past few rainy weeks, as cool air blows into the country from the Tasman Sea.
“The good news is that, as we move into the weekend, it’s much more settled weather, generally drier, and I’m sure many people across northern parts of the country will be happy for that.
“It’s worth saying, though, the payoff of more settled weather will be those cooler temperatures.”
Thunderstorms were forecast about Wellington and Marlborough today and tomorrow, although a severe thunderstorm warning issued for the area this morning has since lifted.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) said the periods of heavy rain, strong gusts and lightning around the centre of the country could cause localised flooding.
More rain, thunder for Auckland as city recovers
At an Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) briefing this morning, deputy controller Rachel Kelleher said most roads affected by flooding were now reopened and the train network, which ground to a halt yesterday, was back to normal.
Kelleher said the region was recovering quickly: “Despite the rainfall, emergency services have coped well.
“Overnight the council received 39 requests for assistance. Two of these were for habitable floor flooding.”
State Highway 1 at Dome Valley and Brynderwyn Hills has reopened after yesterday’s storm.
Auckland had up to 109mm of rain yesterday, with the heaviest fall occurring in Te Pai Park in Henderson, where 103mm fell.
The deluge prompted Mayor Wayne Brown to declare the third state of emergency in four months.
MetService meteorologist Kathryn Hodge said the worst period of rainfall was between 10am and 1pm, when Ōkura got 68.5mm of rain in two hours.
“It was a lot of rain spread out over the whole region.”
In Northland, the highest rainfall was in Kaikohe, which received 123mm.
“Even as the weather improves, not all streams and rivers have reached their peak,” warned AEM duty controller Parul Sood. “It can take time for the rain that has fallen in the hills to make its way downstream.
“Therefore, some waterways may still be rising even though the rain has eased. Any more heavy rain could cause surface and/or flash flooding around streams, gullies and urban areas.”
Auckland’s tap water remained safe to drink. There were no widespread outages or issues. However, a slip burst a water main in Warkworth, which Watercare teams are trying to fix.
