A heavy rain watch for Waitomo, Taumarunui, Taihape, Whanganui and Manawatu remained in place until 5pm on Sunday, with a red warning in force in Taranaki.
Whanganui has had its wettest February day since records began.
The city's dry spell was well and truly snapped this weekend, with 82.6 millimetres of rain falling at Whanganui Airport between 9am Saturday and 9am Sunday, according to Metservice meteorologist Dan Corrigan.
A further 11mm fell from 9am to 10am on Sunday, and rain continued for the rest of the day.
"That figure of 82.6 is the wettest February day [in Whanganui] since records began in 1970, in terms of 9am to 9am data," Corrigan said.
"That puts it at the fourth wettest day, 9am to 9am, on record. That's for the whole year, not just February."
A heavy rain watch for Waitomo, Taumarunui, Taihape, Whanganui and Manawatū remained in place until 5pm on Sunday, with a red warning in force in Taranaki.
Corrigan said prior to the weekend, 0.2 mm of rain had been recorded at the airport for the whole of 2022.
Surface flooding on Anzac Parade at the bottom of Bastia Hill on Sunday morning. Photo / Bevan Conley
Kauarapaoa Rd - 14km past the Aramoho Cemetery – was closed late on Sunday morning because of water on the road, while State Highway 1 Marton between Wings line and Calico Line was also closed.
A slip on Rātana Hill blocked one lane of traffic on SH3, and a large ash tree came down in Kowhai Park.
Horizons Regional Council acting group manager of river management Craig Grant said the Makino Stream was expected to peak at 2.2m at Reid's Line around 4pm on Sunday.
But the Makino floodgates upstream of Feilding were not required as predicted river levels scaled back across the Horizons Region.
The heavy band of rain forecasted by Metservice didn't produce as much rain as anticipated, Grant said.
"As a result the river levels we were predicting and preparing for this afternoon didn't eventuate and an operation of the Makino Stream floodgates is unnecessary," he said.
"However, we will keep the spillway clear in case this changes and thank landowners in the area for their assistance with this."
Mr Grant said there was a decent amount of rainfall across the region resulting in some surface flooding.
"All our rivers are coping well, including the Manawatū which we had also been keeping a close eye on. With more rain expected this evening we will continue to actively monitor all systems for the rest of the weekend as a precaution."
A large ash tree came down in Kowhai Park on Sunday morning, as heavy rain continued to fall. Photo / Bevan Conley
Monday's rain would be more of a "putter patter", Corrigan said.
"The rain eases off on Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday are looking dry and cloudy, although there could be the chance of a shower," Corrigan said.
"Rain is looking to set up again on Thursday, Friday and Saturday."
A scorching 32.6C was recorded in Whanganui on Friday (the hottest in the country), but that figure plummeted the next day.
"When that rain band came through it pushed in a south to south easterly wind, which really cooled things down, Corrigan said.
"On Saturday morning it dropped to around 21C, then lowered to 16C during the afternoon.
"It's been hovering around 16C ever since."
The "week of extremes" in Whanganui was because of the tropical air mass sitting over New Zealand in the past week, ahead of the heavy rain band, Corrigan said.
"There has been a severe rain event on the West Coast [South Island] as well, and it's the same weather system that's bringing moist tropical air.
"Warmer air that's coming over the ocean can hold a lot more water vapour within it, which can then precipitate out.
"That's part of the reason we are seeing such high temperatures and then such heavy rain."
There had been 32mm of rain in Raetihi from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning, and Waiouru had recorded 21.2mm.
"It's likely that the heavier rain is happening up at Tongariro National Park.
"Any rain that's falling in those ranges, up in the mountains, has to drain into the rivers. That's something to be mindful of during these heavy rain events.
