MetService News Release
11 June 2018

East Coast Braces for More Possible Flooding

Gisborne and Hawkes Bay residents need to have the gumboots at the ready as MetService are forecasting another bout of heavy rain to sweep across the area, hot on the heels of recent flooding during Queen’s Birthday Weekend. The rest of the North Island and eastern South Island will also see deteriorating conditions as wind and rain spread their way.

The source of the inclement weather is a rain-laden subtropical low moving down from the northeast, a rarity for this time of year and a producer of cloudy, rainy – albeit warmer – conditions. Severe Weather Warnings for heavy rain have been issued for Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and the Kaikoura Ranges, and Severe Wind Warnings are in place for the Bay of Plenty and Taranaki.

The forecast position of the low pressure at midday Tuesday

“We have seen a lot of action from the Southern Ocean recently and this is a reversal of those cold Antarctic blasts,” says meteorologist Tom Adams.

“This time we are seeing humid air dragged down from the tropics. This brings widespread cloud, heavy rain, and localised strong winds, and unfortunately can take several days to clear.”

“Due to the milder temperatures snow will not be an issue, with most of the action in the north and east,” adds Adams, “In fact, the far south and west will see bright blue skies while the rest of New Zealand clags in to gloom and rain.”

Today the low intensifies and moves towards East Cape, then tomorrow tracks across the North Island but gradually weakens as it does so. By Wednesday the low will have filled significantly, but the warmer air will still spread cloud and patchy rain across much of the country. This means a murky start for National Fieldays, and although there may be some sunny breaks on Thursday the cloud looks set to stay for the four-day farming show. The end of the week sees the sun return in the east, as winds switch back to their prevailing westerly direction.

Official Severe Weather Watches and Warnings are reviewed and re-issued by MetService at least every twelve hours, and more often if necessary. To get the most up to date information on severe weather around the country, or any other forecasts, see metservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, at MetService New Zealand on Facebook, @metservice and @MetServiceWARN on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com

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