There will barely be a dry patch over the country today and tomorrow as several weather systems battle it out.
It is bad news for Ed Sheeran concert-goers at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland tomorrow night, when rain and potentially heavy falls forecast through to the evening.
The Black Caps will also be watching the rain radar closely after making a strong start on the first day their test match against England at Eden park yesterday.
They will be hoping the rain holds off today and into the weekend after they bowled the tourists out for 58 in their first innings - England's lowest total against New Zealand.
The rain is forecast to ease to showers in Auckland on Sunday.
A southerly front that has been slowly moving up the country since Monday is hovering over central New Zealand, bringing heavy rain to the Nelson and Buller regions, MetService meteorologist Matthew Ford said.
In the past 24 hours, Nelson Airport recorded 82mm of rain - most of which fell yesterday morning. There have been reports of surface flooding from the downpours.
Heavy rain warnings remain in Nelson and Buller through to 6am tomorrow, with up to 160mm of rain forecast.
The heaviest falls are expected from this afternoon until Saturday morning, and hourly rates may reach 20 to 30mm.
A trough remains close to Taranaki as well, and periods of heavy rain are forecast from this evening through tomorrow. A severe weather watch is in place.
"Those are the places to keep an eye on," Ford said.
Heavy rain continues to affect central NZ. A Severe Weather Watch is in place for Kapiti, Wellington and Marlborough. A station in the Kapiti region has recorded over 110 mm in the last 24 hours, with over 35 mm in a two hour period this morning! https://t.co/qHyE5zhh6X ^CD pic.twitter.com/fTjbEb9eSx
Much of the South Island will experience showers and some rain today and into the weekend. The North Island is also in for a showery day today, with heavy falls in the northern regions.
"The upper North Island is most in the firing line, from Northland down to northern Waikato. There is also a chance of thunderstorms with the northeast flow."
Kerikeri recorded a downpour of 13mm in an hour this morning.
"That was quite a heavy shower, but fits the trend for the day up there. There may be more isolated falls like that with thunderstorms."
The lower North Island has also had some heavy rain over the past 24 hours, with 62mm recorded in the Rimutaka Ranges north of Wellington.
Rain there should clear this morning as southerlies give way to northerlies this evening.
Over the weekend the front over central New Zealand is forecast to shift east, bringing periods of rain to most of the country.
"The weather is not totally settled, and during the course of the weekend most places will get rain," Ford said.
"However, the lower South Island won't be too bad with fine spells forecast."
With a max temp of just 6.6°C so far in Wanaka, it is tracking for its chilliest March day on record -- for comparison, the average max temp in July is 7.6°C! pic.twitter.com/UDa3YmK9Qi
By Sunday night the front will be lying across the upper and eastern North Island, a ridge will have formed to the east of the country and a northwest flow over the South Island.
Over the past few days the southerly front brought a lot of cool air with it, dropping temperatures across the South Island to winter levels.
Pukaki recorded a low last night of 1C and Manapouri 0C, and there was snow down to 900m in places.
Light snow falling on the Crown Range at present. There is a Road Snow Warning in Place for here and Lindis Pass, where 1-2cm may accumulate on higher parts before clearing this evening. https://t.co/8Y2c6ugSsO ^CD pic.twitter.com/CF0Od27RNy
