The whole of the Bay of Plenty has been under a MetService Orange Warning for Heavy Rain expecting 100-150mm of rain during Wednesday. However, after discussion with the Council, Civil Defence and their teams on the ground, MetService has upgraded the warning from Orange to Red over the western parts of the Bay of Plenty.

MetService Meteorologist John Law says, “This upgrade to a Red Warning is due to conditions on the ground, the saturation of the areas and river levels which mean it won’t take much of a top up to see significant impacts. Since 9am on Friday 27th January, Tauranga Airport has seen 18cm of rain, Whakatane 9.5cm and Rotorua 20cm which is an impressive amount of rain.”

"This rainfall has the potential to bring severe impacts to the area including dangerous river conditions and significant flooding. Slips and floodwaters are likely to disrupt travel, making some roads impassable and possibly isolating communities," continues Law.

The Red Warning includes Rotorua Lake District, Western Bay of Plenty District and Tauranga City. For more details and a map of the area which has moved to Red Warning check out http://bit.ly/AllWarnings.

Law advises, “One of the key things to remember is that even when under an Orange warning there can still be significant impacts and they should not be taken lightly.”

Red Warnings are reserved for only the most extreme weather events where significant impact and disruption is expected. It signifies that people need to act now as immediate action is required to protect people, animals and property from the impact of the weather. People should also be prepared to follow the advice of official authorities and emergency services. Red Warning icons will always be displayed as a triangle.

Severe Weather Warnings remain in place for many parts of the north of Aotearoa New Zealand including Red Heavy Rain Warnings for Northland, Auckland north of Orewa and the Coromandel Peninsula and now Bay of Plenty west of Kawerau.

Along with the heavy rain and localised downpours, northeasterly winds are forecast to strengthen this afternoon across Auckland and Northland potentially reaching severe gale in exposed areas. A Severe Weather Watch is in place for these regions and given saturation of soil could damage trees and power poles.

MetService advises to stay up to date with the latest information at www.metservice.com/warnings and take care out there.

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