Wild weather spares top of the North

The message on the bus says it all as drivers negotiate flooding on Tamaki Drive after wind-driven waves crashed over the sea wall. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The top half of the North Island appears to have escaped damage from forecast torrential rain yesterday and overnight.

Authorities said it was very wet and the water table was very high, particularly in Bay of Plenty, but the rain was not as heavy as predicted and there was little if any damage.

The Pinnacles on the Coromandel Ranges received the most rainfall, with 72mm falling in the 24 hours until 7am this morning. 35mm fell in Whitianga over the same period.

In the Bay of Plenty, Rotorua received the most rain, with 60mm falling in the 24 hours until 7am this morning, while Tauranga received 28mm and Whakatane had 17.4mm in the same period.

A spokesperson for the Fire Service said there had been no weather-related callouts overnight in the upper half of the North Island.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council flood duty manager Graeme O'Rourke said some of the rivers in the area around East Cape had started to rise but they were going through their first warning level.

"There is plenty of capacity in the rivers so we are not anticipating any problems," he said.

He said there was little surface flooding from the heavy rain.

Farmers were warned yesterday to move stock to higher ground and while the ground was saturated there was no real worry now that the rain would cause any more problems.

In Hamilton, 14mm fell in the 24 hours until 7am this morning, while 60mm fell in the Kaimai Ranges.

In Auckland, 31mm fell at the airport in the last 24 hours, with the biggest rainfall between 11pm and 12pm when 10.4mm fell.

The rain made driving hazardous around Auckland with minor surface flooding on some motorways.

The deafening rain was also accompanied by high winds, up to 70kmh, and warnings were issued to drive with extreme caution, particularly on the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Heavy rain eased in Auckland overnight and was expected to ease in the Bay of Plenty today.

The wild weather tore down a large 80-year-old oak tree in the grounds of St Matthew-in-the-City in the Auckland CBD around 8pm.

A Qantas passenger plane was struck by lightning soon after takeoff from Auckland Airport. The Boeing 737, with 144 passengers on board, turned around and landed again.

Three Fullers ferries trips between Auckland and Waiheke Island were cancelled as high winds caused rough seas in the harbour, making travel too dangerous.

MetService forecaster Geoff Sanders said the heaviest of the rain has passed.

"It's more just showers because the main rain band is moving slowly off the North Island."

Mr Sanders said a severe weather warning in place for Bay Of Plenty Rotorua, Taupo, Taihape, and Westland is due to be cancelled.

"We are looking at a changing regime now - the air is coming across the Tasman as opposed to coming down from the north. We are seeing that warm moist air moving out to the east with this front which is moving off the East Cape of the North Island. We're looking at a more westerly regime, which is not dragging the moisture from the north."

He said there will be rain forecast for most of the North Island on Sunday, although the falls will not be significant, while rainfall is expected for the West Coast for the next few days.

- with NZPA