There will be periods of heavy rain today in the Bay of Plenty, west of Te Puke and rainfall amounts may approach warning criteria.
The rain will gradually clear by this evening across the region, with rain in Rotorua expected to clear earlier by this afternoon.
Crabtree said the wild weather in the Coromandel was the result of a slow front; and it had lost its strength before it reached the Bay.
For the last weekend of the school holidays, there will be cloudy periods with isolated showers.
Wild weather in the Coromandel
Three Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews were called to help the stranded motorists who were travelling in a van and a car along Hikuai Settlement Rd, just before 8pm last night.
Shift manager Craig Dally said the group were treated for mild hypothermia after getting themselves out of the water.
It was one of dozens of jobs emergency services were called to as wild weather hammered the area overnight.
Power outages were reported in nearly 150 homes, as strong winds ripped powerlines and trees to the ground.
Cyclone-strength winds battering Te Aroha for the past few days left 86 homes in the dark, while trees flattening power lines have affected a further 65 properties in Tapu on the Thames coast.
