Weather: Heavy rain in Bay of Plenty, warnings in place

A heavy rain watch has been upgraded to a warning for Bay of Plenty.

The warning has been issued from tomorrow into Wednesday, however, rain has been falling consistently in the region this morning.

Very warm and humid conditions are likely, with the heaviest rain expected between 3pm Tuesday and 11am Wednesday, MetService said.

Good morning New Zealand 👋

Here is your forecast for today:

🌧 Periods of rain in the north
🟡 Heavy Rain Watch for BOP
🌦 Scattered showers for the west and inland areas of the South Island
⛅ Areas of cloud elsewhere

Read the specifics at https://t.co/Yjbq0jfCz1
^AR pic.twitter.com/DkuCRmPZDO

— MetService (@MetService) December 12, 2021

Rainfall of 130 to 180mm is expected in inland Bay of Plenty with 70 to 100mm about the coast.

A heavy rain watch remains in place for Coromandel and Taupō between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Periods of rain with heavy falls are forecast for Rotorua and Tauranga today, with possible thunderstorms in Rotorua.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like La Nina! A Tropical Cyclone, heavy rain, high humidity (+7 Maps) https://t.co/TGPKXHqG3z via @weatherwatchnz #TCRuby #CycloneRUBY

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) December 12, 2021

Meanwhile, meteorologists are tracking Tropical Cyclone Ruby, a category 2 storm approaching New Caledonia.

It is predicted to deepen and move south-east past New Caledonia on Tuesday, and then gradually make its way south.

"Tropical Cyclone Ruby formed on Sunday afternoon and just over half a day later was already Category 2 and is still gaining power, plus we have numerous other low pressures all linking up – and it's going to produce a lot of rain, cloud, humidity and drizzle for parts of New Zealand," Weatherwatch.co.nz said.