Heavy rain watch for Northland this weekend

A heavy rain watch has been issued for Northland, with falls of up to 50mm in six hours possible, with people urged to keep an eye on the weather forecasts.

Northlanders should keep their eyes on the weather forecast this weekend with a heavy rain watch in place as two weather fronts are set to collide over the region from Saturday.

MetService forecaster Tuporo Marsters said a slow-moving cold front over the South Island on Friday is expected to converge with a warm, moist front coming from the Tropics over the upper North Island on Saturday evening.

Marsters said if this happens Northland will be the first place hit, but there’s still a bit of uncertainty as to where exactly the stalled system will “bulge” and dump its contents.

“It could be over Northland, and possibly in Auckland, or even the Bay of Plenty. That’s the big question being asked as to where it will bulge, but we just don’t know yet. We’ll have a more accurate picture on Saturday so people really should keep an eye on the weather forecasts so they can prepare,” he said.

The heavy rain watch for Northland is in place for 26 hours from 9pm Saturday to 12am Monday, with periods of heavy rain likely and amounts may reach warning criteria. If the rain is forecast to be more than 50mm in six hours or 100mm in 24 hours the heavy rain watch will be upgraded to an orange heavy rain warning.

Given that Northland is still fairly damp following a wet winter, such heavy rain could lead to surface flooding across the region and impact on the region’s roads.

“That’s quite a long heavy rain warning period, because we’re still not sure exactly where and when, and how much, it will hit. But it appears that Northland will likely be the first place hit.”