Thunderstorms, rain, hail, snow, gusts and gales all on the way today

Ivy and Graham Whyte's house near Whakatane looks in bad shape after a slip hit it on Friday. Photo / Whakatane Beacon

Forecasters are warning of torrential rain, strong gusts and thunderstorms today.

Severe weather warnings were last night issued by the MetService for several places around the country, while emergency services were gearing up for weather-related callouts.

Late last night, the central police communications centre said a house-sized slip had blocked off part of State Highway 35 in Hicks Bay, on the east coast of the North Island.

Thunderstorms are expected to hit Northland today, while heavy rain is expected to cause surface flooding and landslips in places including the Bay of Plenty and northern parts of Gisborne.

MetService forecaster Gerard Barrow said eastern Bay of Plenty, as well as Taranaki, was likely to be one of the worst hit today.

"We're expecting heavy rain there [today]. It won't be as bad as recent days, but there could be localised areas where there will be surface flooding."

Mr Barrow said that because the wider Bay of Plenty region had already received a battering from heavy rain over the past week, that meant there was a danger of road slips.

"The grounds and soil will be sodden so there could be a few slips that people need to look out for."

Warnings were also in place for Northland and down towards Auckland.

Mr Barrow said the heavy rain and strong gusts were a sign for drivers to take extra care on the roads, especially as there would be large amounts of traffic as holidaymakers headed home.

"Not exactly a time to go sailing," Mr Barrow said.

The worst of yesterday's rain struck Taranaki, where surface flooding left water reaching halfway up the doors of stranded cars on State Highway 45, the coastal highway between Okato and Rahotu.

The Bay of Plenty also got some heavy rain, hampering the council's efforts to fix a damaged sewer pipe. Council utilities manager Santha Agas said a damaged section of the pipe was plugged and the council hoped to have it repaired tomorrow.

However, the damaged pipe is only one of many concerns for residents of Whakatane and Ohope, where many houses have been badly damaged by the floods and will need extensive restoration before the occupants can move back in.

Weather Watch analyst Philip Duncan said extreme weather was likely to hit many parts of the country today.

Strong gales were forecast in Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, the West Coast and in Wellington.

The capital, as well as Nelson, was expected to get torrential rain all day today, he said, while there was a strong possibility of thunderstorms striking from Taranaki to Northland and in the Bay of Plenty region.

Mr Duncan said those in the South Island would also get snow - in Queenstown and Wanaka this morning - and hail is forecast throughout the day.