Bay of Plenty braces for thunderstorms and heavy rain amid cold blast

Bay of Plenty is included in a swathe of fresh weather watches and warnings issued across the country this morning.

Several regions are being warned to brace for a cold blast in the coming days and the wild weather is set to bring thunderstorms, heavy rain, snow and strong winds today and into tomorrow.

An orange heavy rain warning is in place for the Bay of Plenty region, east of Whakatāne, from 8pm tonight through to 6am Thursday.

MetService said the area could expect 120mm to 150mm of rain with thunderstorms possible.

A heavy rain watch is in place for areas west of Whakatāne, including Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato and Taupō, with periods of heavy rain, localised downpours and thunderstorms possible.

The watch is in place from noon today until 3am Thursday.

A strong wind watch is also in place for Bay of Plenty.

“The rain and strong winds are the result of a rapidly deepening area of low pressure forming off the eastern coast of Australia and crossing the country,” MetService meteorologist John Law said.

“With cold air rushing in behind this system, it’s going to be a much colder end to the week.”

Rotorua is facing a low of 0C during the weekend with a high of 10C, while Tauranga has a forecast low of 4C with a high of 13C.