A tropical low is expected to graze the upper North Island in the coming days, prompting heavy rain and strong wind watches for some areas.
Forecast severe gales have triggered a strong wind watch for the Far North from midday, while downpours prompting a heavy rain watch will be in place for the Coromandel Peninsula and western Bay of Plenty from Thursday evening.
Civil Defence Northland said motorists should take extra care on the roads and prepare for any potential power outages.
Simultaneously, a front moves onto Fiordland from the Tasman Sea, bringing about a heavy rain watch from Thursday evening into Friday.
All watches have a moderate chance of being upgraded to an orange-level warning.
MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane told 1News the worst of the weather was forecast to miss New Zealand and remain to the north of the country.
"The likeliest outlook is that the heaviest rain today stays offshore, over the ocean, and the more likely phenomenon to affect us is the wind," she said.
"We're going to keep a very close eye on it as it approaches us."
The tropical air mass associated with the system is also expected to bring noticeably warm and humid nights to northern parts of the country, with overnight lows hovering around the high teens and even the early 20s for Northland, Auckland and parts of Waikato.
“That’s largely due to the warmer air mass and cloud cover,” Makgabutlane said.
“It will definitely feel quite humid over the next few days, including overnight.”
Daytime temperatures, however, were expected to remain fairly typical for the time of year, with highs generally in the mid to high 20s across much of the North Island.
Friday had the potential to bring thunderstorms and localised downpours to the upper North Island, capping off what Makgabutlane described as an "active couple of days".
"For the rest of the week, it's quite a good idea for people to keep up with the forecast."
SHARE ME