MetService meteorologist Dom Barry said the heavy rain warnings and watches across much of the North Island were due to a complex low-pressure system that slowly moved southeastward on Monday.
“The heavy rain eases in these areas into Tuesday, but showers remain, some of which could be heavy in Hawke’s Bay,” Barry said.
MetService meteorologist Jessie Owen said there was a general easing trend and the rain watch for Hawke’s Bay won’t necessarily be extended into Tuesday but it will still be another wet day.
“The [heaviest] rain should ease off in the first half of the day, but then there’ll be some more showers after that as the flow tips around southwesterly and you could even be seeing some thunderstorms around the region which could lead to some localised heavier showers,” Owen said.
She said the weather is set to improve for the rest of the week and temperatures will return to about average for this time of year by Wednesday, with Napier and Hastings getting temperature highs between 16C and 18C for the next few days.
Complex low-pressure system moving over the North Island this week. GIF / MetService
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s Napier CBD rainfall monitoring station had measured 29mm of rain on Monday by 2pm while the Kaiapo Rd monitoring station near the middle of Hastings had measured 24mm over the same period.
The heaviest rainfall on Monday was measured at the Kotemāori and Waipatiki rainfall monitoring stations north of Napier, which recorded 67.8mm and 67mm respectively over the day as of 2pm.
MetServices severe weather warning for rain is issued if widespread heavy rain, exceeding 50mm in six hours or 100mm in 24 hours, is expected.
Although several monitored locations in Hawke’s Bay were at or near 50mm of rainfall after 14 hours on Monday, none appeared to be close to meeting these criteria.
