Wet and thundery day ahead as storms linger over New Zealand

Thursday, 19 December 2019

Severe weather warnings are still in place for many parts of the country on Friday, with thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds forecast.

A front that brought some severe weather to the country overnight will move over central New Zealand on Friday.

As the front travels north, MetService states there's a risk of thunderstorms for the west and top of the South Island in the morning.

Kapiti, Horowhenua, parts of Whanganui, Taranaki, Taumarunui and Waitomo may also have thundery weather on Friday.

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The front doused the West Coast and battered the capital with its arrival on Thursday, with some commuters even seeing signs torn down and pedestrians struggling on the streets during gusts in Wellington.

However, those gales were expected to ease throughout the morning. NZTA warned motorists to take care on the roads, with a strong wind warning still in place for Remutaka Hill.

Strong wind warnings were in place until about 9am for the Marlborough Sounds, Wellington, Wairarapa, Tararua District and Canterbury High Country.

The majority of the wind and rain warnings throughout the country were also due to be lifted later in the morning.

For the main centres, Auckland would have some scattered showers throughout the day with the possibility of squally thunderstorms in the afternoon. A high of 22 degrees Celsius is expected.

Wellington's gale northerlies, gusting up to 120kmh, were expected to ease in the morning. Showers were predicted for the afternoon with a southerly change. A high of 19C was forecast.

Those in Christchurch are also in for a wet day, with possible heavy showers throughout the day. A high of 20C is expected.

In Dunedin, a high of just 16C is on the cards, with rain and possible heavy hail expected during the day. The wet weather should ease in the evening.

MetService warned that heavy rain can cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly, could cause surface flooding and slips, and also hazardous driving conditions.

Looking ahead to the weekend, another front would bring a period of heavy rain to the South Island's West Coast, while northwest winds were expected to rise to gale force ahead of the front across the South Island on Sunday.