Northland braces for more extreme weather as cyclone tracked

Northland is being warned to prepare for more severe weather as heavy rain continues across the region and forecasters track Tropical Cyclone Vaianu moving south toward New Zealand.

More than half a dozen severe weather watches and warnings are in force across the North Island and upper South Island midweek, as forecasters warn a separate cyclone is on track to directly impact Northland and Auckland later this week, with conditions expected to become widespread by Sunday.

Downpours have already soaked parts of the region, with Civil Defence Northland reporting between 30mm and 60mm of rain on Tuesday, mainly in eastern areas.

“Roads and river levels remain generally stable, however, there is a lot of surface water around, especially in the east, and the ground is still quite saturated.

“Thunderstorms and localised downpours are still possible and could lead to rapidly rising rivers and streams, localised surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions.”

More unsettled weather is expected tonight into Wednesday morning, with heavy rain and possible thunderstorms, while winds in exposed areas may approach severe gale force.

At the same time, MetService is closely monitoring Tropical Cyclone Vaianu, currently west of Fiji, which has the potential to bring more significant impacts later this week.

The system, currently sitting at category 3, is not expected to reach New Zealand until the weekend, but could bring strong winds, heavy rain and large swells, particularly to the north and east of the North Island.

MetService meteorologist John Law said the situation remains uncertain.

“With the potential to bring more severe weather, Tropical Cyclone Vaianu is a system that we are keeping a very close eye on. The exact path and intensity of the storm as it heads towards us in New Zealand is yet to be determined, however it does look like we will be seeing some impacts from this system during the weekend.”

Authorities say there is still time for households and businesses to prepare, with several days before the cyclone’s potential impacts are felt.

People are being urged to stay up to date with official forecasts and prepare for the possibility of further heavy rain, flooding and strong winds across the region.

Parts of Northland and Auckland were hit by heavy rain and flooding at the end of March, with some areas still recovering from the impact.