A severe weather warning remains in place for Bay of Plenty, east of Opotiki.
Bay of Plenty Civil Defence warns in the 12 hours from noon to midnight today, 80-120mm of rain is expected with peak intensities of 25-40mm/hr in locally heavy downpours.
People are being advised that rivers and streams may rise rapidly, and that surface flooding is possible in locally heavy downpours.
For Rotorua, MetService forecasts rain developing into heavy showers this morning with a maximum of 12C.
