Northland heavy rain watch in place as deluge expected for eastern areas

Another downpour is expected for eastern parts of Northland, as MetService issues a heavy rain watch. Photo / Tania Whyte

Another downpour is expected today, with MetService issuing its fifth heavy rain watch for Northland in five weeks.

The watch is in effect from 9am today and runs until noon tomorrow for eastern parts of Northland. A strong wind watch has also been issued for the whole of Northland from 5pm today.

MetService expected easterly winds to approach severe gale in exposed places, mainly in the west.

Periods of heavy rain were forecast, mainly from Wednesday evening through to Thursday morning. Rainfall amounts might approach warning criteria, MetService warned.

“A front, preceded by moist easterlies, moves onto northern New Zealand on Wednesday. Periods of heavy rain and easterly gales are forecast for some areas of the upper North Island,” MetService said.

“Heavy rain watches remain in force for Northland, northern Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula and western Bay of Plenty.”

The strong wind watch for parts of the North Island was updated at 10am today to include Northland.

The watch comes after the wettest November on record in Whangārei since records began in 1943, with five times the average monthly rainfall recorded at Whangārei Airport. MetService issued four heavy rain watches for the Northland region in November alone.

More than 360mm of rain fell over the month, beating the previous November record by more than 100mm.

It was also a wet winter, with multiple deluges across the region. Kerikeri recorded around three times its average July rainfall.

Niwa has predicted normal or above normal rainfall in the north of the North Island in its climate outlook for summer, with temperatures “very likely to be above average”.