160314bf16 wet weather 16 March 2014 Rotorua Daily Post Photograph by Ben Fraser
160314bf16 wet weather 16 March 2014 Rotorua Daily Post Photograph by Ben Fraser
Do not hang out your washing - heavy rain is falling, and is not expected to ease off until 10am tomorrow.
Metservice meteorologist Tom Adams said there was a heavy rain warning across the Bay of Plenty, which is expected to start in the Eastern Bay.
"We have a heavyrain warning in the Eastern Bay to start off with and this will spread elsewhere overnight. Between 10pm tonight and 10am tomorrow 70 to 80mm of rain in the Kaimai ranges and over Mamaku.
"The worst of it is in the 12 hours from 10pm tonight to 10 am Thursday.
"In the Eastern Bay, that's a longer period where rain is expected out there; heavy rains are expected from 9am today to 2pm on Thursday, so there will be a longer net accumulation of water.
"Today's rainfall rates are 3 to 8mm hour but this could reach 20 to 30mm on Thursday."
"People in the area are advised the heavy rain could force stream and rivers to rise rapidly and surface flooding - things you would expect with heavy rain."
In the 29 hours from 9am today to 2pm Thursday, 100-130mm of rain is expected.
