Enjoy the sun before Hola strikes with fury

It’s looking like a sunny weekend for much of the country but Cyclone Hola is waiting in the wings.

As most of the North Island bathes in sunshine this weekend, galeforce winds and heavy rain are expected on Monday.

Meteorologists expect to be able to give more precise information tonight, but they warn it is going to be wet and wild.

The tropical cyclone that has battered Vanuatu with winds of up to 230km/h was last night at Category 2 strength after being downgraded twice, but still packed strong winds.

The roof of a classroom was blown off and some houses collapsed in Vanuatu. There was also one death from a falling tree reported.

Sustained winds of 170km/h had been recorded with gusts of 230km/h, Meteo-France said.

Those on the Loyalty Islands were last night hunkering down as gusts of more than 160km/h were expected while heavy rain was forecast for the rest of the New Caledonia islands until today.

In New Zealand the cyclone — which will likely disintegrate into an ex-tropical cyclone before it arrives — is not expected to hit until Monday, said meteorologist Brian Mercer of MetService.

In the meantime the South Island would see some rain this weekend — especially Fiordland. The North Island would have a mostly fine weekend with showers over Northland.

Mercer said there was a great deal of uncertainty around the intensity of Hola and its projected path.

Based on its forecasted track, there is a high risk of heavy rain and gales in Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne from early Monday through to Tuesday.

That news is not good for residents in the central North Island who are still in clean-up mode after a sodden couple of days.

On Thursday heavy rain and flooding damaged more than 80 homes in Hawke’s Bay and washed out sections of rail line.

It is expected to take several weeks to clear some roads.

Evacuees returned home to check the damage, with Hastings District Council teams going door-to-door yesterday in the worst-hit areas.

Meanwhile, 112 of the people trapped at Blue Duck Station, near National Park, after slips blocked roads and knocked out power, were airlifted out yesterday.