The wet weather 'just keeps coming in'

Driving conditions around the district were extremely wet including on State Highway 29, Maungatapu. Photo/Sandra Conchie

Tauranga's wet weather is expected to stick around well into this week.

MetService meteorologist Claire Flynn said Tauranga had 20.8 of rain from midnight on Friday to about 1pm on Sunday, with wet weather expected to continue throughout the week.

Rain was forecast for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with the odd shower on Thursday and becoming fine on Friday.

"It is still going to be wet but it will gradually ease," she said.

The biggest rainfall in the Bay of Plenty was recorded in the far eastern ranges where 65.5mm of rain fell from midnight Friday to 1pm Sunday.

The Kaimai Range also had its fair share of rain with 54.4mm of rain recorded during the same time period.

Between 20mm and 50mm of rain fell elsewhere across the Bay.

It was a wet day for much of the North Island on Sunday, with a broad slow-moving rain band bringing rain to all areas except Northland.

The wettest spots were recorded in the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne north of Tolaga Bay, with more than 100 mm of rainfall recorded in the ranges north of Gisborne in the 48 hours to midday Sunday.

"This slow-moving rain band is not expected to move much over the next couple of days, but should slowly weaken [Monday] and Tuesday," Flynn said.

"The wet weather just keeps coming in from the northeast, and this is what is causing the high rainfall accumulations we are seeing."