Wild weather set to worsen across North Island, as rain due to ease in the South
Sunday, 13 February 2022
Heavy rain and strong winds lashing most of the North Island are set to continue for most of Sunday as Cyclone Dovi continues its path, forecasters say.
Severe gales and heavy rain have already caused widespread flooding, slips and brought trees down.
But wind currents are expected to increase as the ex-Tropical Cyclone Dovi makes its way south-west across the North Island, Met Service meteorologist Peter Little said.
“So there’s definitely still more on the way,” Little said.
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“If people are looking out their window and thinking ‘gee, it’s not very windy yet’, certainly in the next few hours we will notice a dramatic increase once the wind turns around to the south-west.”
Dovi first started battering the top of the country about 7pm on Saturday night, with Metservice recording winds of up to 144kmh in the Bay of Islands.
It will move into the Waitomo region later on Sunday morning, then move east of Hawke’s Bay this afternoon, a Metservice alert said.
“It looks like it’s going to cross over in the next couple of hours over the Waitomo area and then will reappear around Hawkes Bay this afternoon, so we’re still expecting wind will pick up quite significantly,”
Southerly winds are still due to pick up in a number of areas including Taranaki and Whanganui, and parts of the Bay of Plenty.
Tongariro National Park and southern parts of Taupō can expect a further 30 to 50mm of rain to accumulate on top of what has already fallen.
Meanwhile, southwest gales gusting up to 120km per hour in exposed places is forecast for Waikato, Waitomo, Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty, west of Papamoa's forecast.
Little said by late Sunday morning Taranaki and Whanganui will be noticing strong winds.
Canterbury was battered with heavy rain overnight, with showers expected to ease through the morning.
Surface flooding was reported in north-west Christchurch, including Bishopdale.
On the West Coast, rain, possibly heavy, is expected to continue through the morning in Westport, but is set to clear with the odd shower in the afternoon.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says it was monitoring all highways and work was under way to reopen flood and slip-damaged state highways on the West Coast following this week’s torrential rain.
SH6 at the Lower Buller Gorge, SH7 Reefton to Hanmer and SH65 Shanendoah to Springs Junction and SH67 Westport to Mokihinui remain closed. The Karamea community has been cut off since the Karamea Highway closed on Wednesday. Damage assessments and clearance work would be underway as access permits, Waka Kotahi said in a statement.
Metservice has issued heavy rain and wind warnings for several parts of the Lower and Central North Island, with gale force south-easterlies also possible on Sunday, including further north for the Auckland region.
State highway 1 is closed between Kaikōura to Waipara due to slips, with a detour in place since 4.30am on Sunday.
Severe weather warnings are in place for Tasman, west of Motueka, from 9am to noon on Sunday, and for the Marlborough Sounds, Richmond and Bryant Ranges, and Rai Valley from 9am to 1pm, as well as for eastern Marlborough and south of Ward, and eastern parts of Canterbury and north of Culverden from 9am to 5pm.