Weather: Heavy rain warning issued for BoP, Rotorua and Coromandel

• Orange warning for heavy rain in place for Rotorua, Bay of Plenty and Coromandel on Friday
• Flooding concerns as 100mm of rain could fall in a few hours

Hundreds have lost power in Rotorua as wild weather continues to roll in.

An orange warning remains in place for the region as severe thunderstorms and accompanying downpours move down the upper half of the North Island.

According to the Unison website, nearly 1000 customers are without power in Lynmore and Ōwhata while Powerco said 78 customers were affected by an outage in the Lower Kaimai.

Earlier, a Unison spokeswoman said 1332 customers lost power in Hamurana due to a fallen tree across power lines.

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“Crews are on site to try and restore power to customers as soon as safely possible.

“With wild weather forecast to continue in the region, we encourage customers to ensure they are prepared for power outages, to call 0800 2 UNISON if they are without power, and to stay clear of and report any damaged or fallen power lines.”

Tree down on Oturoa Rd.

A tree is also down in Oturoa Rd.

MetService said Bay of Plenty and Rotorua could expect 120-160mm of rain in parts of the region, especially east of Rotorua.

Peak rates of 20-30mm/h were likely in localised downpours on Friday morning and afternoon, with thunderstorms also possible. Heavy rain is expected to ease west of Whakatāne late on Friday afternoon.

Niwa said last night up to 100mm could fall in just a few hours, bringing concerns of flooding for the region.

⚠️It's going to be a busy overnight and Friday morning across the upper North Island as a front will bring heavy rain and strong winds.

🌧️The heaviest rain is likely to affect the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty, where up to 100 mm in only a few hours will bring a flooding concern. pic.twitter.com/zY1eULT2Mi

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) April 11, 2024

MetService meteorologist Thapi Makgabutlane said 36mm fell in Rotorua between 6pm yesterday and 1pm today, while 7mm had fallen in Tauranga.

“The weather system is still over Coromandel and will continue to move eastwards over Bay of Plenty throughout today, so those accumulations are expected to increase.”

A surfer braves large swells at Mount Maunganui this morning. Photo / Alex Cairns

An orange warning is in place for the Coromandel Peninsula between 9am and 3pm on Friday. A strong wind watch is also in place.

A severe thunderstorm watch is also in place for these regions.

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12 April, 04:57 am

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12 April, 02:59 am

Large waves will impact the west of the North Island on Saturday

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12 April, 02:55 am

Weather conditions expected to kick off the school holidays

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12 April, 02:48 am

What to expect over the next week

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12 April, 02:37 am

MetService update - by Saturday most areas will have eased

• While it’s been a rather wet week around the country, the warm air from the subtropics has also meant stations in Hamilton, Napier and Blenheim have set new April records for warmest overnight minimum temperatures.
• Severe weather keeps on trucking today, but by Saturday most areas will have eased and Sunday brings in a more settled reign of weather across the country.
• The first week of school holidays looks to be on the settled side, but people around the South Island will need to keep an eye on the forecast as some cool air looks to move in toward the end of the week.

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12 April, 02:28 am

Westland Emergency Management Emergency Operations Centre demobilised

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12 April, 02:25 am

All train movements have been stopped in the Rangitata area

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11 April, 11:58 pm

An update on roads in the South Island

An improving weather and roading picture is emerging for South Westland’s SH6 as weather moves north, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

The highway was closed between Ross and Makarora in Otago overnight Thursday due to fallen trees, a damaged bridge approach, rising creek and river levels and slips.

The northern section of SH6 between Ross and Franz Josef will be open by 2 pm today, says Mark Pinner, System Manager for NZTA Canterbury and the West Coast. 

Trees and slips are now being cleaned up.

Inspections at Smithy’s Creek are underway today aiming to restore access at the bridge in coming days. Next update for this section of highway is midday Monday.

South of Fox Glacier to Haast is now open as of 10.30am today.

The highway was closed between Ross and Makarora in Otago overnight Thursday due to fallen trees, a damaged bridge approach, rising creek and river levels and slips.

Rivers and creeks are dropping on the Otago side of the Haast Pass so this section of SH6 opened at 10 am. There are no plans to close overnight given the improving weather.

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11 April, 11:55 pm

All heavy rain warnings cancelled for Southland

Emergency Management Southland says all heavy rain warnings have been cancelled for the region.

There are a few rivers and streams still tracking upward as the overnight rain makes its way down the channels, but there is very little rain coming in the next few days so they should settle down over the weekend.

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11 April, 10:16 pm

Hundreds still without power in Auckland

Hundreds of properties remain without power around the Auckland region after wild winds overnight but Vector expects electricity will be restored later today.

A spokesperson said crews worked through the night to restore electricity but fewer than 600 customers were affected.

"As of 9am, we have some scattered outages affecting a small number of customers in Manukau, Helensville, Albany, Henderson Valley and on Waiheke Island – these customers have received communications from Vector. Most of the outages from yesterday were safely restored by our crews who worked through the night to get the power back on.

"With the wind forecast to ease throughout this morning, we expect customers to be restored later today," said the spokesperson.

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