More rain, unsettled weather on horizon
TROPICAL Cyclone June’s remnants doused the capital yesterday, but though the weather is set to clear today, the rest of the week looks unsettled.
Winds and heavy rain accompanied the sub-tropical low and hit Taranaki and Wairarapa yesterday morning, with Kapiti also getting a decent soaking.
MetService meteorologist Liz Walsh said Dawson Falls, on the slopes of Mt Taranaki, received a dump of 112 millimetres of rain in 24 hours while Ngawi, on Wairarapa’s south coast, had been inundated with 66mm in 12 hours, with 17.44mm of that falling between 10am and 11am yesterday.
In the same period, the Rimutaka Range summit got 52.1mm while the Orongorongo Range got 49.5mm.
Parts of Tararua district also received more than 50mm of rain overnight.
‘‘These fronts have been steadily moving across the North Island – there is a clearing trend but we have to get through today first,’’ Ms Walsh said.
Following sunny spells and increasing northerlies today, a weak front would return tomorrow bringing rain and was expected to clear by Friday. However, the weekend would become unsettled again as another frontal system moved in.
Meanwhile, severe gales hammered exposed areas of the Far North, and strong winds also brought down trees and powerlines in Auckland and the Waikato, cutting power to thousands of homes.