A red heavy rain warning has been issued for North Otago, Dunedin and coastal Clutha, with MetService warning the duration and amounts of rain expected “are very unusual and major impacts are likely”.
The warning spans 34 hours as it is in place from 11am today until 9pm tomorrow.
“Expect 120 to 150mm of rain with the heaviest falls about the eastern hills. Peak rates of 8 to 15mm/h. Note that the amount and duration of rain is highly unusual for this area and it may cause major impacts,” MetService said.
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell was en route to Dunedin in response to the weather.
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Meanwhile, Coromandel Peninsula woke to power outages and some surface flooding this morning after wet weather overnight, while thunderstorm conditions which also battered other parts of the North Island have eased.
Winds had reached 110km/h in Northland and up to 100km/h in Auckland.
The Thames-Coromandel District Council said in a post to social media that there had been approximately 100mm of rain across the peninsula overnight, and 38 properties in Whitianga were without power after a tree fell across lines earlier today.
Emergency Management Otago keeping close eye on rivers, streams
Emergency Management Otago (EMO) said MetService had told it its predictions mean Dunedin’s coastal area was currently the area of most concern.
“Our staff will be keeping a very close eye on rivers, streams, and associated flood schemes, in this area,” Otago Regional Council’s general manager science and resilience Tom Dyer said.
“We expect all rivers across coastal and southern Otago to rise throughout the evening. Key rivers we are focused on at this stage include the Taieri River, the Silverstream, Leith Stream, the Pomahaka and Tokomairiro rivers.”
The Water of Leith is expected to rise throughout the evening (Source: Jared Greenwood). (Source: Supplied)
Dyer said regional council flood response crews responsible for flood control areas including the Leith Valley, Taieri/Silverstream and the Clutha schemes area had been preparing for the weather.
“They have extra contractors on standby and have opened coastal river mouths as a precaution. Pumps on these schemes are also activated,” he said.
EMO group manager Matt Alley said the red heavy rain warning was a timely reminder for people to ensure their household plan, emergency supplies and getaway kits are prepared.
He advised residents to keep away from low lying flood prone areas, not to drive through any flood water, act quickly to evacuate if they saw rising water and be ready for power and communications outages.
“We encourage people to keep up date with weather forecast and road conditions.”
Civil Defence bunker activated in Dunedin
Dunedin City Council said it has activated its Civil Defence bunker, and sandbags were being made available for community use in South Dunedin, Mosgiel and Middlemarch, in response to the heavy rain.
“The prolonged rainfall is already causing some surface flooding on roads around the city and there is a risk of more, and slips in some locations, as the weather event continues,” a council spokesperson said.
“Contractors have been checking and clearing the city’s stormwater systems, sweeping gutters and checking mud tanks in low-lying and high-risk areas in preparation for this weather event.”
The council said it was “working hard to ensure the city is ready” and all steps were taken to minimise any impacts and respond to incidents.
‘A months’ worth of rain’ possible for parts of South Island today – NIWA
NIWA’s principal scientist Chris Brandolino told Breakfast there was “more rain, more wind and active weather” to continue for parts of the country, particularly in the South Island today.
He said Tairāwhiti/ Gisborne and Bay of Plenty could expect between 50mm-100mm of rain for the first half of today as a push of atmospheric moisture comes from the tropics.
Brandolino said rainfall amounts for the top of the South Island have so far been anywhere from 50mm-75mm.
“Whangamata also had 66mm [of rain] since 9pm last night,” he said.
He said Dunedin and Balclutha where the “places to watch” for the next 12 to 24 hours, particularly the east-facing hills today with heavy rainfall amounts expected.
NIWA’s principal scientist Chris Brandolino said it was “quite possible” some regions could get a months’ worth of rain within a 15-hour period. (Source: Breakfast)
He said in October typically those regions received an average 60mm-65mm of rain, and could expect “double that amount”.
“It’s quite possible we could get a months’ worth of rain, 60mm worth in 15 hours. So, if you’re squeezing 31 days’ worth of rain into a half day of rain, you can see why flooding would be a concern.”
He said for Auckland, Whangārei and Hamilton “today’s actually going to be a pretty good day”.
“We’re going to see some sunshine, pleasant temperatures and actually have some decent, better weather coming in tomorrow for much of the country.”
“Tomorrow is probably the nicest day for the next few for much of the country, especially the North Island,” Brandolino continued.
“For the South Island, tomorrow does look good except for Dunedin, maybe toward Southland and Otago where rain could linger.”
Looking ahead, Brandolino said La Niña weather patterns would influence temperatures and rainfall as spring continues, including elevated chances for rainfall events throughout summer.
“Different things for different people, it looks like temperatures were going to be warmer than average for the next few months.”
Heavy rain, severe gales for parts of the country
Meanwhile, an orange heavy rain warning was in place for Bay of Plenty west of Whakatāne, along with Bay of Plenty from Whakatāne eastwards, and Gisborne/Tairāwhiti north of Ruatoria into this evening at the latest.
A heavy rain watch was in place for inland Clutha and Southland until midday tomorrow
Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti/Gisborne north of Ruatoria, and Fiordland about the Fiords were under a strong wind watch into early tomorrow morning at the latest.
Road snowfall warnings are in place for Lindis Pass (SH8) and Crown Range Rd until 1pm this afternoon.