Severe thunderstom watch in place for the North Island’s east coast

Residents of the North Island’s already battered east coast are again being urged to keep one eye on the sky.

MetService issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, the Bay of Plenty, and Taupō on Saturday morning.

MetService meteorologist Jessie Owen said it was the only severe weather watch in place for the country on Saturday, and if conditions worsened it would upgrade the watch to a warning.

There was a moderate risk of thunderstorms for central and eastern parts of the North Island Saturday afternoon and evening which would bring localised heavy rain and small hail.

READ MORE:
* As the climate crisis deepens, is degrowth the only pathway out?
* Power outages, state of emergency as Cyclone Kevin hits Vanuatu
* Cyclone Gabrielle: ‘Damage is just phenomenal’ – Tararua cleanup a big challenge

MetService said they were expected to be slow-moving, and consequently a moderate risk that some could become severe, producing localised downpours of 25 to 40mm per hour, or possibly more.

Rainfall of that intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, and make driving hazardous.

MetService is expected to update its forecast again at 9pm.

For the rest of New Zealand, there should be reasonably settled weather, apart from forecasts of rain and showers for anyone living on the eastern coastline.

“The wettest areas will be anywhere on the east coast with southerly wind flows bringing cold showery flows to all eastern regions,” Owen said.

In terms of the driest spot in Aotearoa today – the west coast of the South Island will be nice and sheltered from the southerly flow.

The coldest part of the country will be the east coast of the South Island with locals expected to feel a lot colder than they have this week with temperatures dropping from the mid to high 20s to around 16C or 17C.

“This will be for towns in Canterbury, Otago and the southern lakes, it’s quite the drop from the last couple of days,” Owen said.

“The northern part of the North Island will have temperatures in the mid-20s – which is about average for this time of year.”