Weather chaos - what's expected for Western Bay of Plenty?

A moderate risk of thunderstorms is in store for the Bay of Plenty. Photo / File

The wet weather is expected to linger in the Western Bay of Plenty this week, with residents warned localised downpours of 25mm-40mm per hour could cause flooding.

MetService issued a severe weather warning yesterday for the Bay of Plenty with periods of heavy rain and possible thunderstorms expected in the region.

Rainfall of 200mm-250mm was expected in the Kaimai Range with peak intensities of 20mm-30mm per hour and possible thunderstorms forecast until today afternoon.

MetService meteorologist April Clark said 69.2mm of rain had fallen in Tauranga since 12am on Sunday to midday on Monday.

Clark said the heaviest rainfall for Tauranga was 18.6mm per hour between 2am-3am on Monday.

A heavy rain ban was slowly moving over the Western Bay of Plenty on Monday and was expected to stick around during the week.

There was also a moderate thunderstorm risk for Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty, Clark said.

"That means there could be rainfall of 10mm-25mm an hour," she said. "There is also a risk of localised downpours which means 25mm-40mm could fall in some areas."

Clark said heavy downpours could cause flooding and rivers and streams to overflow.

The heavy rain was expected to ease today but downpours were expected to linger in the Western Bay of Plenty as the rain ban moved westward.

"It is looking to be worse for the Western Bay of Plenty than Eastern Bay of Plenty," she said.

The forecast for Friday was mainly sunny with light winds. Saturday and Sunday were expected to be cloudy with light winds and showers, Clark said.

Tauranga Airport manager Ray Dumble said the first three flights scheduled to depart from Tauranga to Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch were cancelled yesterday due to the weather.