Weather: Heavy rain watch upgraded to warning in Bay of Plenty and Coromandel Peninsula

A heavy rain warning has been issued for parts of the Bay of Plenty out of concern of streams and rivers rising rapidly.

MetService issued the warning for the Bay area west of Te Puke, and also for the Coromandel Peninsula, at 9.30am for the period of time between 8am Saturday to 6am Sunday.

MetService warned that up to 130mm of rain could be expected with peak rates of 10 to 20mm/h at times.

A warning been issued for the Bay of Plenty area east of Te Puke, which is valid for 24 hours from 1pm today to 1pm Saturday.

A wet weekend in store for most of the North Island due to a low pressure system approaching from the Tasman Sea. Meanwhile, high pressure should bring dry weather to most of the South Island.

Check the forecast at https://t.co/Yjbq0jgaoz ^SG pic.twitter.com/OA6hGbdNww

— MetService (@MetService) September 29, 2022

Between 110mm to 170mm of rain is expected with the largest accumulations in the ranges east of Whakatāne.

Further bursts of rain may also fall later on Saturday afternoon and evening.

Earlier MetService had issued a heavy rain watch, stating the region was set for a "very wet" few days.

The watch was in place for areas east of Te Puke between 6am and 9pm today, where periods of heavy rain could approach warning criteria, MetService said.

Meteorologist Stephen Glassey said a moist northerly flow over the area would bring the heaviest rain to the Eastern Bay of Plenty, with lesser amounts in western areas.

Students: yay, school holidays! 🥳

Mother Nature: this looks like a great weekend to make it rain! ☔

North Islanders: might want to think about some indoor plans 🙃 pic.twitter.com/uMonqYk8N0

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) September 29, 2022

"It's looking very wet in Bay of Plenty for the next few days.

"Tomorrow, there is a low-pressure system approaching the North Island from the north and the rain should become heavier in Western Bay of Plenty, where some places could get between 50 and 100mm in 24 hours.

"The rain looks like it eases across the region on Sunday and turns to showers on Monday before clearing as the low starts moving away from the North Island on Tuesday."