Parts of the North Island are expected to be hit by heavy rain and severe gales from Tuesday, as Cyclone Fili reaches New Zealand.
The storm, which brought flooding and power outages to parts of New Caledonia, is due to reach Northland on Tuesday morning and spread down to the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne.
"Fili has long since been declassified from its Tropical Cyclone status and has been slow-moving just south of New Caledonia for the last couple of days," says MetService Meteorologist Rob Kerr.
"However, it is going to deepen and accelerate towards New Zealand today, and cross eastern North Island during Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and potentially severe gales to areas from Northland to Wairarapa."
Parts of the North Island are in the firing line. (Source: 1News)
Heavy rain warnings are in place in several areas, including the Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Plenty and Rotorua.
Large waves are expected to affect northeast and eastern coasts, which could cause flooding and coastal erosion.
This is causing concern for the Tairāwhiti Gisborne region, which was recently hit by flooding.
Kerr says up to 300mm of rain may accumulate over 24 hours as the storm spreads to Gisborne and the Hawke's Bay.
There are also strong wind warnings for Auckland, Great Barrier Island, the Coromandel and Gisborne.
Meanwhile, a cold front is likely to bring heavy rain to Fiordland and Westland on Monday and Tuesday before moving onto the North Island on Wednesday.
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