Parts of Bay of Plenty received more than 100mm of rain in 24 hours with flooding reported this morning.
An atmospheric river of rain moved across the country on Thursday with Bay of Plenty being described as a “scoop” for wild weather.
All heavy rain warnings have been lifted for the region. However, heavy showers with thunderstorms and hail were possible this afternoon and tonight, MetService said.
Whakatāne District Council said its crews worked through the night responding to last night’s weather.
Flooding has closed Reid Rd in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, while Awahou, Pokairoa and Manawahe Rds were passable with caution because of trees and debris, the council said via social media.
A boil water notice remains in place for Rūātoki.
“Our roads are slippery and may have debris on them. Please drive with caution today.”
A Rotorua Lakes Council spokesperson said one weather-related event was reported to the council yesterday – a tree down and blocking Paradise Valley Rd, which was cleared.
Nothing was reported overnight.
MetService said Waimana received 111mm of rain from 9am Thursday to 9am today, while Kawerau got 83mm, Rotoehu 82mm, Ōpōtiki 76mm and Rotorua 51mm.
Further west, Waihī had 47mm of rain and Tauranga 43mm during the same period.
The Pinnacles in Coromandel received 91mm, Whangamatā 77mm and Whitianga 59mm.
Whakatāne had a maximum wind gust of 81km/h and Rotorua 68km/h.
High wind gusts were recorded at the islands offshore the Coromandel, including 107km/h at Slipper Island.
A Bay of Plenty Regional Council spokesperson said the Paraiti, Kaituna, Tauranga, Waioweka, Whakatāne and Ōtara Rivers all reached their normal channel capacity.
According to Earth Sciences New Zealand’s June climate report, winter kicked off warmer and wetter than usual for much of the country.
Temperatures were notably mild and rainfall significantly higher in many regions, particularly across the North Island and parts of the south.
Tauranga had 151 sunshine hours and 216mm of rain, well above the normal amount for June.
Temperatures were above average for Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga. The mean temperature for Tauranga in June was 12.3C, which was 1.1C above average.
Climate scientist Gregor Macara said the national average temperature last month was 9.4C – 0.7C above the June normal, making it the 16th-warmest June on record since 1909.
Many regions were also drenched with “well above normal” rainfall recorded in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Taranaki, Wellington and much of the South Island.
Meanwhile, northern Northland, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa experienced ongoing dry conditions.
Among the main centres, Auckland was the warmest overall, Tauranga took the wettest and sunniest title, Christchurch was the driest and coolest, while Dunedin saw the least sunshine.
Several centres in the northern and eastern North Island cracked 20C this afternoon while the lower South Island experienced sub-10C temperatures.
Gisborne was the warmest place in the country with a temperature of 20.8C at 2pm, and Mt Cook the coldest at 2.8C, according to the MetService website.
Kaitāia, Auckland and Napier had all topped 20C, while Whangārei was on 19.5C and Hamilton 19.3C.
Tauranga and Palmerston North had reached a balmy-for-July 18C, and New Plymouth 17.6C – a degree above Rotorua’s 16.6C.