Hola’s lashing of strong winds and heavy rain should be short-lived
The upper North Island will wake today to strong winds and heavy rain from Tropical Cyclone Hola.
The storm reached New Zealand overnight, with eastern areas of the North Island in its sights.
Updates from WeatherWatch said the storm had winds reaching about 100km/h and gusts up to 130km/h yesterday evening. By midnight, the winds were estimated to weaken slightly — reaching up to 80km/h and gusts of up to 100km/h as it made its way here.
The MetService issued severe weather warnings for heavy rain and strong winds. Downpours were forecast for Northland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, northern Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.
A strong wind warning was in place for Northland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua and Gisborne.
In Auckland, gale southeasterlies are forecast this morning before turning southwesterly this afternoon.
Severe southwest gales gusting up to 120km/h in exposed places are also expected this afternoon through to this evening, particularly in the east.
“Heavy rain could cause temporary flooding and rivers to rise rapidly, while strong winds have the potential to cause damage to powerlines and unsecured items,” the MetService said.
“Remember, this system is compact but fast-moving — those expected to be impacted should expect weather conditions to change rapidly.”
WeatherWatch head analyst Philip Duncan said the eye of the cyclone was due to sit a few hundred kilo- metres north of Northland by midnight last night and would then track from the northwest to the southeast.
He said there would be a small but very “potent burst” of rain heading our way today.
“This rain may cause flooding and slips . . . and affect state highways.”
Lines company Vector will have crews on standby in case the storm does any damage to the electricity network. Chief network officer Andrew Botha urged people to tie down anything loose. “And please — always treat downed lines as live and stay well clear.”