The top of the North Island is in for bouts of heavy rain and severe gales throughout today, prompting MetService to issue alerts for Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel and the East Coast.
“If I wanted to be anywhere, I’d be in the South Island. In the north, it’s wind, rain and snow, and in the south, it’s a beautiful day today,” MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden told the Herald.
“We have a low-pressure system sitting just to the west of the Northland area, and that’s expected to move east over the top of the island throughout the day,” Lynden said.
A strong wind watch has been set for Northland for between 1pm and 9pm today, with MetService saying gusts could reach gale-force in exposed places. There is a moderate risk the watch could be upgraded to a warning.
And while Lynden said the “most significant risk” of gales would come during the watch period, wind gusts have already been recorded up to 75km/h this morning.
“There are some pretty strong gusts at Cape Rēinga, 75km/h, further south at Karikari it reached 55km/h, and in Auckland there have been some pretty strong gusts with the harbour bridge sitting at 70km/h.”
Heavy downpours have also been recorded around Auckland this morning, he said.
“There has been, in Birkdale in Auckland, 19mm in the last hour [between 7.45am and 8.45am]. That’s quite a heavy downpour.
Another cool 😎❄️ morning across the country, particularly in the south where this morning's clear skies have let the temperatures slip into the negatives.
— MetService (@MetService) July 16, 2025
It's a touch warmer in the North Island this morning as rain 🌧️from the west moderate's temperatures. Rain is expected to… pic.twitter.com/I7RGIKH7Lt
“And around Auckland, we’re sitting on rainfall from 15 to 30mm so far this morning.”
A heavy rain watch was issued for Auckland, Great Barrier Island, and Waikato north of Lake Waikare. It was set to lapse at 10am. A heavy rain watch for the Coromandel ends at 1pm, and an overnight watch for Northland already lapsed at 7am.
MetService has issued a heavy rain watch for Gisborne/Tairāwhiti for between 1pm today and midday tomorrow, and says it is highly likely it will be upgraded to a warning.
MetService said: “Streams and rivers may rise rapidly. Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions are possible.”
Hawke’s Bay, north of Napier, will also come under a heavy rain watch from 4pm today, lasting until 6am tomorrow. MetService said there was a chance it would have to upgrade it to a warning.
The forecaster has also issued a road snowfall warning for the Desert Rd for between 2pm and 8pm, with up to 3cm of snow slated for the highest elevations of that section of State Highway 1.
Lynden said: “Be aware of the situation. Make sure you’re staying well aware of the weather and be mindful of the conditions.”
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.