Weather: New heavy rain watch for Northland, Canterbury; thunderstorms, downpours possible

• A heavy rain watch for Northland, north of Whangarei, is set to begin at 10am.
• MetService says heavy rain, thunderstorms and localised downpours are possible.
• A 48-hour heavy rain watch for Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains is forecast to begin from 3am tomorrow.

Heavy rain, “unseasonal snow” and wild winds are expected for New Zealand this week.

Forecaster Matthew Ford told the Herald heavy rain was set to move down from the north of New Zealand today.

“That’s mainly for Northland but late afternoon and evening, some of that rain will be heading into Auckland and the Coromandel,” he said.

“There is a possibility of thunderstorms and downpours for Northland as well.”

⛈️ Tuesday will likely see another round of heavy rain and thunderstorms move across Northland, potentially dipping south into Auckland later in the day.

🌊 Additional rainfall >50 mm could affect parts of Northland, leading to a chance for localised flooding. pic.twitter.com/Rz5kOcppu2

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) April 28, 2025

MetService has issued a heavy rain watch for Northland, north of Whangarei, forecast to start at 10am and last until midnight.

“Periods of heavy rain, with thunderstorms and localised downpours [are] possible.

“Rainfall amounts may approach warning criteria. [There is a] high chance the watch will be upgraded to a warning.”

Tuesday looks wet for Northland, and some localised areas may see periods of more intense rainfall

Northland has had a very wet month, and with soils already quite saturated, any further heavy rain could lead to impacts being felt more readily pic.twitter.com/XVeUdRrORO

— MetService (@MetService) April 28, 2025

MetService said that Northland has experienced a very wet month, and with soils already quite saturated, any further heavy rain could cause impacts to be felt more quickly.

“Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving [are] conditions possible.”

‘Wild winds’, ‘unseasonal snow’

MetService said “wild winds” are expected to affect eastern and central parts of the country from Wednesday.

“Disruptive southerlies set to surge through Wellington,” it warned.

“Not the best day for cycling to work!”

“Unseasonal snow” has also been forecast for inland parts of Canterbury on Wednesday and Thursday.

Forecaster Alec Holden told the Herald MetService was confident snow would fall anywhere about and south of Arthur’s Pass and Wanaka.

“We could also see some pretty low snowfall around Mackenzie Basin, as low as 800m.”

MetService has also issued a heavy rain watch for Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains north of Timaru.

It is forecast to start at 3am tomorrow and last for 48 hours.

Ford said there was potential for more heavy rain for the region at the end of this week.