Heavy rain to hit North Island's east coast. Photo: Unsplash / Erik Witsoe
More than a thousand homes are without power in the upper North Island as a series of short and intense thunderstorms move across the region.
Power Co reported an outage affecting over 1300 properties in the Waikato town of Tīrau.
Residents in Muriwai - south of Gisborne have also taken to social media to report power cuts and torrential rain.
Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for the Far North in the Kaeo, Kerikeri and Matauri Bay areas.
Further south, a line of severe thunderstorms is lying near Auckland and is expected to affect areas in the Rodney and Albany regions.
And on the East Coast a warning is in place for Gisborne as MetService radar detects severe thunderstorms near Gisborne, Whangara and Waimata.
MetService early on Saturday afternoon issued a thunderstorm warning for Whangārei, saying it had detected "severe" storms near Bream Head, Pataua, Taiharuru, Opahi, Purua and Hikurangi. They were expected to be "accompanied by torrential rain and large hail". Just after 2pm the forecaster said they were no longer considered "severe".
The on-again, off-again warning for Auckland City was back on again shortly after 3.30pm, with Waikato and Franklin included this time.
A severe thunderstorm watch remained in place for Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Northland.
The east
Civil Defence in Gisborne was on alert for the second time in a week, with another bout of heavy rain forecast to sweep across the region Saturday afternoon.
MetService early on Saturday issued an orange heavy rain warning for Gisborne/Tai Rawhiti, and in the afternoon issued a thunderstorm warning.
Mayor Rehette Stoltz says 100mm of rain was dumped on Tai Rawhiti earlier in the week.
"We are asking the public to drive to the conditions, look after yourself, and most importantly, make sure you listen to all our Civil Defence messages as we update you."
An earlier thunderstorm warning for Wairoa was cancelled, but renewed just after 2.30pm, this time with Gisborne included.
"These severe thunderstorms are moving towards the south, and are expected to lie near Wairoa and Frasertown at 11.37am and near Wairoa, offshore [Hawke's] Bay and Frastertown at 12.07pm. These thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by torrential rain."
MetService on Saturday morning also said thunderstorms in Bay of Plenty were "expected to become more widespread later this morning or during the afternoon and spread to southern Coromandel Peninsula".
"From late morning until tonight, some of these thunderstorms may become severe, bringing localised downpours with intensities of 25 to 40mm per hour."
At 12.30pm the forecaster said the storm had weakened. "There are other thunderstorms in the region, but none are currently classified as severe."
From 12pm Saturday and for the next 22 hours, Gisborne-Tai Rawhiti could expect up to 150mm of rain, especially in the ranges, and thunderstorms are possible.
A similar heavy rain warning has been issued for Hawke's Bay north of Napier from 9am Saturday until 3am on Sunday.
Up to 120mm of rain is expected and there is also a risk of thunderstorms. Metservice says the heavy rain will ease south of the Wairoa District on Saturday night.
MetService heavy rain warnings for the North Island's east coast on January 3. Photo: MetService/Screenshot
Further South in the Ruahine Ranges, a heavy rain watch put in place on Saturday morning was quickly lifted.
"However thunderstorms are expected today and some of these thunderstorms could produce localised warning amounts of rain," MetService said just before 10.30am.
Heavy rain over the Christmas/New Year period saw people attending the annual Rhythm and Vines festival in Gisborne having to wade through mud, as torrential rain struck.
Meanwhile, the Horowhenua District Council has activated the Mayoral Relief Fund to support residents who have been financially impacted by the recent severe weather and prolonged power outages across the district.
MetService says weather conditions should ease by Monday, with a ridge of high pressure forecast over the country, which would make the risk of severe weather minimal.
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