Bay of Plenty braces for several days of rain

MetService meteorologists have issued heavy rain warnings for Northland, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne. A slow-moving front is bringing widespread rain to the northern half of the North Island and is forecast to linger over Bay of Plenty during Wednesday.

"This front bears the hallmarks of being able to produce a significant rainfall event in Bay of Plenty", commented MetService Weather Ambassador, Bob McDavitt. "On Tuesday, around 160 mm is likely in the ranges east of Whakatane and north of Ruatoria,with smaller amounts in the ranges west of Whakatane and about the Coromandel Ranges. And more rain is likely in these areas on Wednesday."

"People in the Bay of Plenty, particularly the eastern part, and northern Gisborne should brace themselves for significant accumulations of rainfall this week and keep a watch on rising stream and river levels. Latest warning and watch details are available on the MetService website."

Rain from this front is likely to spread over much of the North Island and also onto northwestern parts of the South Island overnight and on Tuesday. A Watch is in place for heavy rain in northern parts of Auckland, Waikato,and Nelson.

"This is already the wettest episode that Hamilton has had since early February", said Mr. McDavitt