120mm of rain expected for Northland as region prepares for another deluge
Sunday, 9 August 2020
A heavy rain warning is in place for Northland as up to 120 millimetres of rain is predicted to fall, just weeks after a severe storm caused devastating flooding in the region.
Northland and Auckland would both experience a deluge of rain on Tuesday, MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said.
As well as the heavy rain warning for Northland, a heavy rain watch was in place for Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula as well as strong wind watches for all three areas.
Glassey said: “There’s a low pressure system that’s moving across the upper North Island on Tuesday and Wednesday, which will bring some heavy rain.”
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The worst of the weather is expected to hit Northland on Tuesday morning, and Auckland shortly after.
Strong winds could approach severe gales at times, MetService said.
The downpour did have the potential to cause further flooding and slips in Northland, Glassey said.
“The ground in the area is still sodden from the storm, so this amount of rain does have the possibility of causing further problems.”
Northland could expect to see up to 120mm of rainfall on Tuesday while Auckland would experience between 20 to 50mm.
In Northland, peak rates of 15 to 25mm per hours are expected in the morning and early afternoon.
”Note that the ground is already saturated with water from a previous heavy rain event, so surface flooding and rapidly rising rivers are likely,” MetService said.
”Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous.”
The last Northland storm saw more than 200mm of rain fall on July 17 and 18, just days after earlier flooding impacted the region.
The cost to local and central Government was estimated at $17.6m and rising, but that did not take into account the cost to private homes and vehicles, businesses and farms, as insurance claims were still coming in.
The rain would be heavy, but would still not be enough to have any significant effect on Auckland’s water supply woes, but Glassey said it was “better than nothing”.
On August 9, Auckland’s current dam levels were sitting just below 60 percent. Usually by this stage of the year the levels would be sitting at around 85 percent.
As the week progresses the weather in the upper North Island should become more settled, Glassey said.