After Friday’s strong winds and rain, a period of calm weather is set to arrive in time for the weekend, but there are a few last warnings over the North Island for the night.
The Bay of Plenty will see the last of the rain, with a heavy rain warning in place until 9am and up to 90mm of further rain expected.
Taranaki and the Tararua ranges are also under an orange rain warning overnight, but the weather should clear up by 7am.
Auckland and the Bay of Plenty both have a low risk of thunderstorms overnight, easing before dawn on Saturday.
A strong wind watch has been lifted for the Wairarapa after gales eased earlier than expect, and the heavy rain watch has also been lifted in Otago.
MetService meteorologist Angus Hines said the bad weather on Friday was because of two major weather fronts moving across the country.
At the same time, a cold front moved up the South Island which brought heavy rain to the West Coast and also a healthy dose of rain to parts of the east.
The South Island was expected to clear of much of the heavy rain and strong winds by Saturday afternoon.
A strong wind watch is in place for Wairarapa where northwest winds may reach severe gales at times.
The Tararua Range is forecast to see warning level rain until 6pm on Friday, with 80mm to 120mm expected to fall at a peak rate of 15mm to 25mm an hour.
Credit: stuff.co.nz
