A number of weather warnings and watches are in place ahead of forecast heavy rain for parts of the country later today.
The North Island has a number of regions flagged, the South Island has five, as a heavy snow and rain watch has been lifted for Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes District.
A heavy rain and strong wind watch is in place for Northland from mid-afternoon today, Auckland from 9pm, and Coromandel Peninsula from 11pm. Overnight watches are in place for Bay of Plenty and Taranaki. In the south, a heavy rain watch is in force for Westland from 9am today until 6pm tonight and Richmond from 3am to 3pm on Friday.
An orange heavy rain warning is in place for Gisborne from 7am tomorrow, Tasman 1am, Westland from 9am to 6pm today and Eastern Otago from 9am to 2pm today.
An incoming low arriving off the Tasman Sea is bringing two separate fronts which will cause much of New Zealand to experience wet conditions.
It comes as Auckland is recovering from severe flooding which hit the region on May 9.
MetService's head of weather communications Lisa Murray said the westerly winds will be gusty.
"Plus Auckland and Waikato could see some thunderstorms and as we know from previous events, thunderstorms can be a key contributor to localised flooding and landslips. Add the wind and you could see trees fall and power outages.
"Trees are in sodden soil already so it is expected some may fall, causing localised power outages.
"It's good for people to prepare for that just in case they are affected," she said.
A spokesperson from Vector also urged households to prepare.
"Vector crews are monitoring the weather and ready to respond to any power outages as needed. Now’s the time to prepare for the possibility of losing power by charging your devices, keeping a torch handy and staying up-to-date with local weather warnings.
"Severe weather could cause trees to fall on power lines or slips that impact the stability of power poles. We ask the public to stay well clear of any downed lines, treat them as live at all times, and call 111 if they see any.
"If a customer loses power, the fastest way to report it is through the Outage Centre."
Murray said there will be some large swells for the west of the North Island, especially the west coasts of Auckland, Northland and Waikato.
The North Island will likely get a reprieve on Friday "but the low pressure system comes through again and as the centre of the low then passes over Saturday, it's looking like there will be another band of thunderstorms".
"It's a big weather event that's normal for this time of year but the problem is we are already so saturated," she said.
For regions under heavy rain warnings, MetService said downpours may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous.
An Auckland Emergency Management spokesperson said "it's always good to be prepared – especially if you live in areas prone to flooding or isolation. Stay up to date with forecasts and plan your travel accordingly".
Fine weather possible next week
Rain or showers are forecast for most places on Saturday, with the west of the North Island and Tasman region likely to be the wettest places, MetService said.
Meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane told 1News the earliest proper clearance of wet weather will come through mid-next week.
"The first rainband moves through later today into tomorrow and the first part of the weekend is still looking unsettled, as a second front moves in later on Friday and into Saturday.
"We are still expecting rain and showers and it will be a windy one," she said.
"The top of the South Island will experience unsettled weather from early tomorrow morning. The eastern part of the south will also be affected but to a lesser extent."
She said the eastern parts of the country will get a reprieve on Sunday but not in the west.
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