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Cyclone Gabrielle is heading out to sea, but there is still expected to be a “sting in the tail”.
The storm was moving away from the country on Wednesday and was “several hundred kilometres” east of Gisborne in the morning, MetService meteorologist Angus Hines said.
However, “there will still be a sting in the tail” for the bottom of the North Island and the top of the South Island on Wednesday as the last of Gabrielle’s influence hits.
A front associated with the cyclone would continue to bring severe weather – including heavy rain – to central parts of the country through until Thursday evening.
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There was a heavy rain watch in place for Canterbury, north of Methven, in place until Thursday morning, while the Chatham Islands were also expected to catch some heavy rain on Wednesday.
A heavy rain watch has also been issued for all of Wellington, except the eastern hills, from 11pm Wednesday to 11am Thursday.
An orange heavy rain warning was in place in eastern Marlborough south of Ward, including the Kaikoura Coast, and in Canterbury north of Waiau, until 9am Thursday.
From 10pm Wednesday, an orange heavy rain warning would be in place over the Wairarapa south of Masterton and the eastern hills of Wellington. The watch would lift 6pm Thursday.
There were blue skies over Auckland on Wednesday and a drier day was expected for the storm-ravaged areas of Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay, MetService said.
Kelly Hodel/Stuff
More rain is on the way for some of the worst-hit areas.
However, respite would be short-lived for Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, as rain was expected to return to those areas on Thursday.
“At the moment, it doesn’t really look like it will pack anything like the punch that they have had over the past few days,” Hines said.
“Of course that is further rain falling on to saturated parts of the country where there are still floodwaters and rivers are running really, really high.
“So even if it is just a modest top-up of rain on Thursday, it is going to prolong those severe weather impacts through those regions.”
MetService also cancelled strong wind warnings for Northland, Marlborough, Nelson, Tararua, Kapiti-Horowhenua, Wairarapa and Taranaki.
Jason Dorday/Stuff
The sun rises over Ambury Regional Park in Auckland after Cyclone Gabrielle.
In Auckland the wind had died down, but it would still experience a “breezy” day, and there were possible southerly gales about Wellington and coastal Wairarapa, Hines said.
Large waves were still affecting the eastern parts of the country on Wednesday, with residents in parts of Napier encouraged to evacuate.
Speaking on the radio on Wednesday morning, Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said he was still worried about the impacts the weather would have on the worst-hit areas.
Mcanulty said the Government would be addressing the electronic infrastructure, as well as the roading around New Zealand that constantly cut off communities in bad weather, such as in the Coromandel, Marlborough and Tairāwhiti.
“Every time it rains there, we worry. We need to look at what needs to be done.”
McAnulty said he was “optimistic and hopeful” about Wednesday, but was still really “worried” and “anxious” about certain places in New Zealand.
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