Worst of the wet weather passes for North Island

The worst of the wet weather has passed over Hawke's Bay and Gisborne. Photo /NZ Herald

The worst of the wet weather drenching the east coast of the North Island has passed - just in time for Easter.

Trees and a slip have blocked State Highway Two - the road between Napier and Wairoa is closed.

Gisborne Civil Defence emergency manager Richard Steele said the city got off quite lightly overnight.

"North of the city we still had a bit, Te Puia Springs got hit again for some reason with another 80mm overnight."

Some areas south of the city also recorded up to 90 millimetres of rain overnight.

Mr Steele said there are no major problems or damage, but trees and a large slip have come down near Kotemaori.

MetService spokesperson Dan Corbett said the heaviest, most intense rain across Gisborne and Hawke's Bay has passed.

"They've already received in the ranges 200mm of rain, and had up around 100mm around Gisborne," Mr Corbett said.

"The low that has provided this southeast flow is falling apart, but there is one last piece of what we call upper-level energy that is just feeding in across the North Island as we go through tonight.

"So there may be one more little bout of some rain, just brief in nature, but when you've had so much rain you don't want anymore. This could move across the Gisborne/Hawke's Bay region tonight."