Wet weekend - then it gets worse

A wet weekend will be followed by even heavier rain on Monday and Tuesday. MetService is already keeping a close eye on the upper North Island, including Auckland, for potential heavy rain and severe gales.

Several fronts are making their way northeast over New Zealand this weekend, bringing rain and strong winds to many parts. Heavy rain Warnings and Watches are in place for some western and northern areas for today and Sunday. The weather should ease for a while once this first band of rain sweeps through. Unfortunately, worse weather is waiting in the wings.

"On Monday and Tuesday, an area of low pressure is set to deepen and move over the North Island, directing a strong and moist easterly flow over much of the North Island and the top of the South Island," said MetService Meteorologist Emma Blades. "This means heavy rain for northern and eastern areas, including Auckland, and strong winds for most of northern and central New Zealand. As always, we advise people in these areas to keep up to date with the official MetService Severe Weather Warnings and Watches," commented Blades. These can be found at http://metservice.com/warnings/home

On Wednesday, the low spreads southeast across central regions, so MetService will also be closely monitoring the lower North Island and the east of the South Island for potential heavy rain and strong winds. The area of low pressure then moves away to the east on Thursday.

Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and any watches/warnings atmetservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, at MetService New Zealand on Facebook, @metservice on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com

ENDS

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