Tropical rainmaker: First burst of rain to start falling on North Island ahead of stormy week

The North Island is set to be deluged by a sub-tropical weather system packed with fierce winds and rain, with a danger of flooding in worst-affected regions.

MetService said the rainmaker behind the widespread flooding in New South Wales was due to move in from the Tasman Sea today and stick around for the rest of the week.

Rain and gales will batter northern and central New Zealand.

Patchy light rain had started falling before dawn with forecasters expecting it to get heavier and more persistent later today.

Heavy rain on the way 🌧

The Severe Weather forecasts have been updated https://t.co/qHyE5zhh6X

The rain clears out pretty smartly on Wednesday but there's more heavy rain lined up for Thursday/Friday 👀 pic.twitter.com/r7QoVzcuqe

— MetService (@MetService) July 4, 2022

A heavy rain watch which was originally in force for 61 hours across Northland has since been reduced to just 18 hours from this evening after forecasters said the front would no long stall near the top of the country.

A heavy rain warning is also in force for the Bay of Plenty ranges east of Opotiki overnight tonight with forecasters warning of flooding, slips and hazardous driving conditions.

MetService says it expects more severe weather alerts to be issued across the week.

A wet week is forecast for northern and central NZ this week as a sub-tropical weather system over the Tasman Sea moves onto the North Island, then lingers. Snow is likely about inland parts of the South Island from Canterbury northwards on Friday https://t.co/Yjbq0jxdqz ^PL pic.twitter.com/xoSevxxXJk

— MetService (@MetService) July 3, 2022

Forecasters say the first burst of rain for northern and central regions will start today.

"The trough is expected to move northwards on Wednesday, with rain retreating to the Far North.

"However, the reprieve from the wet weather over northern and central New Zealand is expected to be short-lived, as the trough sinks southwards on Thursday, bringing with it further rain and the potential for heavy falls," posted the forecaster on Facebook.

Here's a first cut at forecast rainfall amounts to midnight Wednesday - generally a 24 hour period.

After a break in the rain from late Wednesday into early Thursday, a separate system will bring another round of rain late Thursday/onward. pic.twitter.com/aWKI4F3hky

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) July 3, 2022

Southern parts of the country are expected to miss the worst of the system with sunshine and showers forecast before strong westerlies turn to cold southerlies later in the week.