MetService says a deluge set to hit Northland and Auckland will not be as bad as previously forecast.
But it is still predicting heavy rain and has added the Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty as regions likely to be affected.
MetService meteorologists has issued a heavy rainwarning with the area between the Bay of Islands and Whangarei under particular threat.
MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt yesterday said an incoming frontal zone could stall over the area today and if it did some areas could receive 150mm of rain in 24 hours and there is a risk of surface flooding.
But today, MetService said: "As the front is now forecast to move faster than previously indicated, rainfall accumulations in excess of 100mm are now unlikely."
In the Auckland region, the area from Whangaparaoa northwards will be the worst hit with heavy rain starting about midday.
The heaviest falls are now likely to be on Thursday afternoon.
Floods hit the Far North in March, causing around $50 million damage, and again in July when heavy rain and gales battered the region.
