Wet and windy Wednesday ahead as MetService forecasts storms for upper North Island

A wet and windy Wednesday is in store for Auckland and much of the north of the North Island, with a risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms.

MetService has issued four heavy rain watches for Wednesday that cover Northland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty west of Whakatāne and Bay of Plenty east of Maraenui and Gisborne/Tairāwhiti north of Tokomaru Bay.

MetService told the Herald much of the rain can be expected after sunrise.

“The upper North Island is going to start seeing heavy rain, potentially thunder and some stronger northeasterly winds,” MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said.

“So, it is very much a Wednesday issue for the upper half of the North Island.”

Ferris said the wet weather was caused by a low-pressure system approaching the country from the north.

A lot of wind and rain could hit Auckland and much of the North Island on Wednesday. Photo / Michael Craig

“It’s got quite warm, humid air, which is very good potential for heavy rain and also does bring that risk of maybe some downpours or some thunderstorms.

“So, within the band of rain, there’ll be patches of what could be quite intense rain.”

However, he stressed that this is mainly an issue in the north of the country on Wednesday, with much of the rain moving south on Thursday.

Wet weather could continue in Auckland into Thursday and there is a risk of thunderstorms in the afternoon, but these are likely to be spread around the city.

Looking towards the end of the week, Ferris said the sun might start to reappear in Auckland.

“Friday afternoon [it] looks like the sun comes out and I think for Saturday, it does look like there’ll be a brief period of wet weather, maybe in the morning, but that afternoon should be all right.

“And then Sunday looks good, so, tomorrow is the main risk for widespread heavy rain.

“Thursday, you could still see some heavy showers around the region, but they’re not as likely to affect everyone. And then it’s generally getting better towards the weekend and then through the weekend.”