A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Auckland and several other northern regions as the wild weather is expected to ramp up this evening.
Torrential rain has already hit areas of Auckland with cars spotted traversing surface flooding that reaches door height in the suburb of Onehunga.
MetService warned a second band of fast-moving thunderstorms is also expected to threaten Auckland later tonight once the first lot clears.
The warning was lifted at 5.45pm this evening.
The earlier MetService alert said Kaipara, Auckland City, Waikato, Hauraki, Waitakere, Franklin, Rodney, Gulf and Albany should brace for these severe thunderstorms, which are moving towards the southeast.
“These thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by torrential rain,” MetService warned in its alert.
People in affected areas should be cautious of flash flooding about streams, gullies and urban areas, and be aware driving conditions could become “extremely hazardous”.
MetService meteorologist Juliane Bergdolt told the Herald the thunderstorms are associated with a warm front passing over the North Island.
Bergdolt said a second weather system threatens Aucklanders later tonight.
“There’ll be a little bit of a break in between, and then we’ll see another sort of period of heavy rain with possible thunderstorms late this evening,” she said.
“There’s not a lot of lightning with the front. Just very, very heavy rain.”
Some stronger winds with some gusts up to about 70km/h were possible, Bergdolt said.
“We’re seeing some torrential [rain] with the areas of the warning. And those are likely to cause flash flooding.”
She said the second dose is expected to hit at midnight tonight and continue into early tomorrow.
Earlier today, families headed to the Auckland Farmers Santa Parade with incoming rain on the horizon.
Thousands of event-goers were drenched during the mid-afternoon parade.
MetService earlier said today’s weather “will not be as pleasant as all the good children of Auckland deserve”.
MetService said it wasn’t expecting it to be a washout as the heaviest rain and showers were concentrated north of the city centre this afternoon.
The Santa Parade started at 1pm and finished at 2.30pm.
A number of severe weather watches and warnings are in place for the country.
MetService said a pressure system moving across the South Island is causing heavy rain warnings in the Westland ranges, the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes, Kahurangi National Park and the southern regions of Fiordland.
The ranges of Westland and headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers are under a heavy rain watch from 1pm to 7pm.
In Westland, periods of heavy rain and possible thunderstorms are likely, and amounts may approach warning criteria.
The headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers can expect heavy rain with possible thunderstorms during the same time period.
Rainfall amounts are near the warning criteria within 15km east of the main divide.
Fiordland south of Dusky Sound is under a heavy rain watch for much of the day between 9am to 9pm.
The ranges of Tasman west of Motueka and Buller north of Karamea are under a heavy rain watch from noon until 8pm this evening.
“This is due to a lot of moist air brought by the low being wrung out like a sponge as it is forced over the ranges,” MetService said.
“We then have strong wind watches across large swathes of the eastern South Island and Wellington, again due to the low-pressure system passing over.”
The capital is under a strong wind watch from 3pm to 11pm, with northerly winds potentially approaching severe gale in exposed places and a moderate chance of being upgraded to a warning.
The Canterbury High Country north of Twizel and the Canterbury Plains near the foothills have a strong wind watch in place from 2pm Sunday until 2am Monday.
“In addition, there is the risk of thunderstorms across the western parts of both islands as the warm air mass brought in by the low is not ‘stable’, ie it is primed to produce heavy showers given a small push,” MetService said.
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