The central North Island is being warned of severe thunderstorms and possible flooding for Sunday afternoon with weather warnings stretching from the top of the Waikato to Taranaki.
MetService said a combination of afternoon heating and cool temperatures aloft are expected to produce scattered thunderstorms across inland areas.
“There is a moderate risk of these thunderstorms becoming slow moving and severe, producing localised downpours of 25 to 40 mm/hr,” MetService warned.
“Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips.
“Driving conditions will also be hazardous with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain.”
MetService forecast the poor weather to arrive around 1pm before easing later in the evening, around 9pm.
It comes after the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne region was put in a local state of emergency on Thursday following flooding from more than 24 hours of torrential rain.
An update on the weather’s tracking is expected at 2pm.
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