Cyclone Gita’s path

Worst of deluge looks over for Auckland, Northland but other parts of North Island under heavy-rain warning

The downpour that blasted the North Island over the weekend is easing as the heavy band of rain begins to lose power, with the worst of it behind Auckland and Northland.

But forecasting models suggest New Zealand could still be in the firing line for a tropical cyclone that has caused havoc in the Pacific Islands.

Much of the country was drenched at the weekend as a front dumped a summer deluge.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand attended 25 weather related callouts in Auckland between 6am and 8.30pm yesterday. Most were related to flooding, while a couple involved some felled trees.

While the rainfall began easing in northern areas last night, much of the east coast of the North Island was not expected to see a reprieve until today or tomorrow.

The active front looming over the North Island that had saturated much of the country was forecast to weaken from late tomorrow.

The band of rain drifting over most of the country was becoming less widespread, MetService meteorologist April Clark said.

“It’s not looking likely that Northland will get it [heavy rain] again, it is looking less widespread, it looks like the worst is over”

Clark said it was still raining across the board but it was “certainly more scattered than before”, though there were still chances of heavy rainfall.

Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato from Morrinsville eastwards, Bay Of Plenty, Rotorua and Taupo were under a heavy-rain warning from 6pm yesterday to 11pm today.

Marlborough had been pelted by 198.5mm of rain in the past 24 hours in its Western Ranges, but had now passed the worst.

“It’s starting to move to the east and break up, those regions will be in the heavy rain warning.

“That band of rain does stick around into Monday, the big thing is that the rain is becoming scattered.”

Tomorrow would be the “same kind of deal” and everything would ease off, Clark said.

“On Wednesday, a ridge is forecast to spread over the South Island from the Tasman Sea while the front over the North Island continues to weaken.”

The front would further weaken on Friday as it moved slowly over the South Island. During the week the West Coast of the South Island would be worse affected and the upper North Island could still get more rain, although not heavy. The MetService advised people to refer to their weather-warning watches because every area would be slightly different.

Meanwhile models are increasingly suggesting New Zealand could be hit by the remnants of a tropical cyclone wreaking havoc in the Pacific. But the MetService has stressed things could change between now and a week’s time, when more than half of current models projected the system to make landfall in the North Island.

Tropical Cyclone Gita, after causing considerable damage and flooding in Samoa, had strengthened to a severe category three storm and was set to further intensify as it made its way across the Pacific. It was tracking southwestward or westward over Tonga.

Climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger said two of the world’s best forecasting models showed what would be an ex-tropical cyclone passing across New Zealand on February 19 or 20.