Heavy rain expected in already devastated Gisborne and Coromandel

As regions around the country continue to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle, parts of the upper South Island and North Island are being warned to brace for more heavy rain.

MetService has issued a severe weather watch for some parts of the upper South Island and the North Island, but it is the flood-ravaged areas of Gisborne and the Coromandel Peninsula that are most at risk.

“Surface flooding is not an unreasonable expectation as another complex trough moves through the North Island,” MetService meteorologist Alex Holden said.

“It’s already really wet, so this will just be piling it on,” Holden said.

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From 3am on Monday through to 6am on Tuesday, periods of heavy rain with the possibility of thunderstorms are set to hit Gisborne from Tolaga Bay northwards.

“There’s still some uncertainly around whether the watch will have to be extended further south, but we’re predicting that the majority of the impacts will be seen in northern areas,” Holden said.

The rain will then travel on to the Coromandel Peninsula, with MetService issuing a heavy rain watch from 9am on Monday through to 3am on Tuesday.

These rain watches are the result of a new tropical low forming to the north-east of New Zealand by Fiji, which MetService is warning could develop into another cyclone.

“As things stand, the new tropical low is sideswiping us, hitting Gisborne and the Coromandel.

“It’s bringing with it a raft of moist warm air, which is clipping these parts of the country and exciting the rain totals.”

Another cyclone forming would be tough news those in regions that were hit by Cyclone Gabrielle or by the flooding on Auckland Anniversary weekend.