Tropical storm nears Northland as MetService issues new weather alerts

Several fresh severe weather alerts are in place, and civil defence officials are keeping a close watch as a tropical storm nears, bringing gale-force winds and heavy rain.

Southeast gales and heavy rain will hit the north as a tropical low is expected to close in on the top of the country today.

A strong wind watch is in place from midday to midnight for the Far North District, with severe 100km/h gales expected in exposed places.

Civil Defence Northland is advising people to take extra care on the roads and be prepared for potential power outages caused by strong winds.

A heavy rain watch has been issued for the Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty west of Kawerau and Fiordland west of the Lakes.

These watches are in place from tomorrow night into Friday morning.

MetService told the Herald the tropical system would travel further south and reach Auckland tomorrow.

Simultaneously, another front will move on to Fiordland from the Tasman Sea, bringing wild northwesterlies and a drenching of heavy rain.

MetService meteorologist Gerard Bellam said it was unlikely there would be much relief for most of the country until the weekend, with unsettled conditions for the rest of the week.

“We’ve got periods of rain basically from Wednesday right through Friday ... the first dry day is really Sunday,” Bellam said.

“There’s a pincer action going on there.

“You get that weather in the north and then the more common variety sort of front coming across from the south Tasman on to the South Island,” he said.

Bellam said other weather alerts are likely to be issued later in the week.

“We have got a high-pressure system over central New Zealand, and so, between that and the low that comes down, it’ll squeeze those isobars fairly tight over northern parts of the country.

“That has triggered a severe weather wind watch,” he said.

At this stage, MetService said there was moderate confidence that warning amounts of rain would fall in Fiordland and a low confidence in Northland, northern Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula.

A fresh weather alert has been issued as a wild tropical storm edges closer to New Zealand, threatening to bring severe 100km/h gales and a dose of heavy rain. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

“With that front coming across from the Tasman, we are seeing temperatures spike up in that warm, northwesterly flow,” Bellam said.

He said temperatures are forecast in the mid-20s for the east of the South Island on Thursday and even expected to peak at 26C in Kaikōura on Friday.

Bellam said the tropical air was expected to bring overnight temperatures of 21C for Northland on Friday, 19C for Auckland and 20C for Whitianga.

On Friday, MetService said the remnants of the low and the associated front were expected to move across the northern half of the North Island.

The front over Fiordland was forecast to move northeast over the remainder of the South Island.

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