Some fine spells but more rain to come
Worst-hit parts of nation struggling to recover from cold and flooding
The effects of last week’s dire weather are still being felt across the east coast of the country. Families returning from school holidays had hours added to their journey after a huge slip came down on to State Highway 25A last night, blocking a major thoroughfare out of the Coromandel.
The Kopu-Hikuai Rd was closed in both directions by the 50m-wide landslide.
It’s the largest of several big slips on the east coast of the North Island, which bore the brunt of Thursday night’s rainfall before the storm wreaked major havoc further south.
More rain is on the way but it’s coming from the west, with the hills sheltering the Bay of Plenty and keeping the region reasonably dry.
The weather will be patchier this week for Auckland, with three days of showers and fine spells before possible heavy rain on Thursday.
A well-timed three days of sunshine and minimal winds are forecast from Saturday till Monday.
MetService meteorologist Tom Bell said showers were expected to ease today but pick up again in the evening.
“On Tuesday we’re expecting that to ease off a bit, but there will remain the odd shower here and there.”
Overnight temperatures would be around 8C and daytime could get up to 16C during the first half of the week.
Drier weather will be welcomed on the South Island’s east coast although it will take days for swollen rivers to return to normal levels.
Hundreds of people could not return home last night after huge rainfalls forced evacuations on the weekend.
Residents of about 130 properties in Henley and Taieri could not return home last night, Dunedin Civil Defence controller Sue Bidrose said, after they were evacuated.
“Some of these residents may not be able to return to their homes for several days.”
Pastures could take several days to emerge from the floodwaters and most river fords were still unsafe to cross.
Residents near the Heathcote River in Christchurch were being warned to treat all floodwater as contaminated.
Bell said the east of the South Island could see brief rain but “nothing like they had last week”.
MetService issued a heavy rain warning for today but it was confined to the West Coast of the South Island, particularly Fiordland, where up to 90mm could fall by midday.
Trampers were warned to watch for slips and surface flooding.
No snow is expected today in the South Island but ski fields should open.
More than 50cm of snow fell inland on Friday and Saturday at Porters ski area, with chopper pilots, including former All Black Richie McCaw, called in to help stabilise the area which was at high risk of avalanche.
Clear cold mornings will make for treacherous roads this morning as surface water freezes to hard-to-see black ice in areas such as Christchurch, MetService warned.