More wet weather is on the way for Wellington. Photo / Ross Setford
More wet weather is on the way for Wellington. Photo / Ross Setford
Wellington can expect more wet weather today, bringing with it the risk of families being entirely cut off by floodwaters, as the "almost tropical" front drifts north.
MetService severe weather forecaster Madz Naeraa-Spiers said although the severe weather warning for the Wellington region has subsided, that did not mean the rain had gone.
"We're still stuck in this almost tropical northwesterly airflow so we keep getting high moisture feeding down."
He says that moisture will persist for much of the day before easing into more settled weather on Wednesday – still cloudy but not nearly as wet.
The front bringing all the moisture to central Aotearoa slowly drifts north and weakens into tomorrow and the rain begins to ease away.
It follows a day of torrential rain on Monday which saw roads closed, and a community of about 25 properties cut off due to a landslip in Maungakotukutuku Valley on Kāpiti Coast.
Contractors had to fish out cars on Monday from Riverbank Car Park. Photo / Hutt City Council
Mayor K Gurunathan said luckily for the families who were cut off, a single lane was cleared meaning they could spend the night at home.
He says the river levels have been reducing all night – but with more rain on the way, it's "likely" that will creep up again.
He was keeping a close eye on the Mangaone Stream in Otaki, which could cut off the Te Horo township entirely.
No one was evacuated overnight although some families had self-evacuated out of an abundance of caution.
He warned people to stay out of any floodwaters, which could be contaminated.
Naeraa-Spiers says Monday's rain, although significant, was not a record-breaker – and it did not take much rain for Wellington to run into issues with flooding.
"We got an awful lot of rain in a short period and right around commuting time. Many places got high 20s in millimetres in an hour so it was very, very wet."
Debbie Wilson was driving from Churton Park to the Hutt and said the poor conditions came "out of the blue".
"All of a sudden [the road] was just three quarters underwater, and guys were out there digging trying to find the drain."
Surface flooding on State Highway 2. Photo / Debbie Wilson
Although Wellington central is no longer under a warning, the Tararua Range can expect 70 to 100mm of rain, which could cause flooding, slips or rapid river rise.
Kāpiti and Horowhenua should also keep an eye out, with the chance of rain becoming heavy again.
