Wild weather set to hit upper North Island from midday

The upper North Island is in for a stormy few days with driving rain, thunderstorms and gale force winds set to hammer the regions.

Heavy rain watches and warnings are in force stretching from Coromandel Peninsula across to Auckland north, with parts of Northland expected to be drenched with up to 100mm of rain expected to fall in intense downpours.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said the wild weather was expected to kick off around midday.

A heavy rain warning has been issued for Northland starting Wednesday morning with localised downpours possible evening. This could cause surface flooding & hazardous driving conditions so be prepared & keep updated at https://t.co/hnwmGxU1gR and https://t.co/JgRL98vtxw ^AC pic.twitter.com/K7kYzhh6IR

— MetService (@MetService) July 13, 2020

Along with the rain, there would an increasing risk of thunderstorms over Northland throughout Wednesday, with the potential for localised deluges.

Damaging winds were expected to hit Auckland and Northland this evening with northeasterly gales pounding the regions until dawn. MetService had issued a severe wind watch from 6pm until 9am tomorrow. Winds are expected to reach strengths of up to 90 km/h.

With the school holidays ending motorists are being warned to take care in potentially hazardous conditions with flooding and slips possible. People are also being warned to watch for rivers and streams rising rapidly.

Further to the east, the Coromandel and Great Barrier Island are in for a dowsing, with a heavy rain watch in place from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning, with up to 90mm of rain expected in that period.

The wild weather was expected to track east over Thursday and Friday, with potential for warning-level amounts of rain about western Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and the ranges of Hawke's Bay.