Bay residents are bracing for Tropical Cyclone Lusi, which could bring gale-force winds and torrential rain to Tauranga and other parts of the Western Bay on Saturday.
Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management director John Hamilton is advising people to prepare for possible severe weather this weekend.
Mr Hamilton said the Ministry and the MetService were closely monitoring the cyclone's path as it moved slowly from Vanuatu, past Fiji and on to the country.
At this stage the cyclone was expected to make landfall somewhere between North Cape and the Bay of Plenty on Saturday.
MetService forecaster Leigh Matheson told the Bay of Plenty Times it was too early to be certain the cyclone would hit Tauranga and the Western Bay.