Tauranga and Rotorua battered by record wind gusts and heavy rain

A mixed bag of weather was in store for the region this week. Photo / Getty Images

With the start of the new year on the horizon, Tauranga and Rotorua have seen a record number of wind gusts in the past 24 hours.

MetService reports that yesterday, both cities experienced their maximum gusts for December 2025 (70km/h for Tauranga and 87km/h for Rotorua).

A MetService spokeswoman described the conditions as particularly severe, with the strong gusts causing noticeable disruption across the region.

She added that the intensity of the weather has made this week especially notable for Tauranga residents.

“It’s been the toughest week since they last saw something like that, that’s probably why it’s so significant,” she said, highlighting how unusual the recent conditions have been for this time of year.

Since 9am Monday, Tauranga has received a total of 11.8mm of rain, while Rotorua has recorded 7.5mm.

In spite of these numbers, Tauranga’s aggregate rainfall for December remains below average, whereas yesterday’s showers have made Rotorua’s December rainfall exceed the city’s average.

As for today, MetService forecasts significant rainfall, with the current rain expected to transition to showers, which will be briefly accompanied by sunshine breaks throughout the day and cloud in the evening.

“Luckily, we can see sunshine breaks for some time in the afternoon,” the spokeswoman said.

She noted that cloud was expected to build again later in the evening.

On New Year’s Eve, showers were expected to persist throughout the day, easing in the evening, with little sunshine and substantial cloudiness.

“The showers tomorrow are looking to ease in the evening, but it’s expected to remain cloudy, which is rather unfortunate for New Year’s Eve.”

The temperatures for Tauranga and Rotorua were both forecast for minimal fluctuation.

Rotorua’s maximum temperature today was 23C, and was expected to reach no higher than 22C tomorrow.

Whereas Tauranga’s forecast maximum temperature today was 25C and 24C tomorrow.

The unpredictable nature of this week’s weather has forced the cancellation of many people’s plans, including Tauranga City Council’s New Year’s Eve events.

The council has called for five community events to be aborted due to what they described as “adverse weather conditions”.

On Monday, the council said it made the decision to cancel the New Year’s Eve events as weather reports indicated “significant rain bands and strong wind gusts during event set-up, with conditions highly likely to continue into Wednesday”.

“Making the decision allows our community time to plan alternative New Year’s activities.”