While Monday is a "pause day" for severe weather in Auckland, bad conditions are likely to pick up again by Tuesday evening, warns Georgina Griffiths of MetService.
The Auckland-based meteorologist spoke with media Monday afternoon to discuss the latest weather warnings and watches.
It comes as red heavy rain warnings have now been issued for Northland from 4am tomorrow to 4am Wednesday, Auckland north of Orewa from 5pm tomorrow to 5am Wednesday, and Coromandel Peninsula from midnight tomorrow to 6pm Wednesday.
Orange heavy rain warnings are in place for Auckland from Orewa southwards and Great Barrier Island from 6pm tomorrow to 6am Wednesday, and Bay of Plenty from 6am Wednesday to 3am Thursday.
Strong wind watches are in place for Northland from 10am tomorrow to 2am Wednesday and Auckland from 1pm tomorrow to 4am Wednesday.
"We're looking at about the same volume of rain and again the risk of downpours" for Auckland, Griffiths said this morning. "You could expect 60-80mm of rain to come in that period north of the [harbour] bridge, for places north of Orewa we could see 80-120mm of rain."
Griffiths also warned of high-intensity rainfalls associated with thunderstorms and periods where 25-40mm of rain may fall within an hour.
She noted that the expected amount of rain is not an amount that would usually trigger warnings, but given how saturated Auckland currently is, the region is more "vulnerable" to severe weather events than normal.
"It's not going to look like Friday," she said optimistically, warning Aucklanders, "I suggest if you're vulnerable or need to do some work today around the property, do it today or tomorrow morning before that rain returns."
Griffiths also highlighted the significance of incoming north-eastern gales, which are expected to reach 80-90km/h.
Given that soils are heavily saturated at the moment, she warned that trees are likely to fall at a "more than normal" rate.
"We don't typically worry abut winds of that magnitude, but particularly East Coast bays, Whangaparāoa and north of Orewa, those winds may cause wind damage [to] trees, etcetera, given the soil saturation," she said.
She advised that anyone with questions or concerns reach out to MetService on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.
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