Severe thunderstorm watch lifted for the North Island’s east coast

A severe thunderstorm watch has been lifted after residents of the North Island’s already battered east coast were urged to keep an eye on the sky.

MetService had issued the watch for parts of Gisborne, northern Hawke’s Bay, the Bay of Plenty, and Taupō on Saturday, but it was lifted at 8.15pm..

Rain had been falling in Gisborne and parts of Hawke’s Bay, and MetService forecaster Gerard Bellam said 21mm fell in the hour up till 5pm in the Gisborne ranges.

He said those ranges fed down to water catchments and rivers, and there were fears it could impact areas already devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle.

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The areas thought to specifically be at risk while the watch was in place were eastern Bay of Plenty, eastern Taupō, inland parts of Gisborne and northern Hawke’s Bay.

Meanwhile, MetService said the country’s wettest areas were expected to be anywhere on the east coast, with southerly wind flows bringing cold showery flows to all eastern regions.