Civil Defence in Gisborne is warning residents in low-lying flood prone areas to begin preparations as ex-Cyclone Hola moves over the area tonight.
Tairawhiti Civil Defence Emergency Management Group manager Louise Bennett said staff are contacting residents via email and text with warnings ahead of predicted high winds and rain.
"The current forecast has rain and wind having an impact on the district but the variation in models makes it difficult to be sure about just how big or small the impact will be.
"However, we still want people to be prepared and to stay safe. It's better to move furniture, waka and kayaks and other equipment to higher ground while they can," Ms Bennett says.
Early this morning Cyclone Hola was slow-moving 500km to the north of the country, but by early tomorrow will be rocketing past East Cape at around 60km/h.
This mean two things - firstly that the severe weather will not linger, as Hola will have moved away to the east by late morning tomorrow.
Secondly, the winds near land, in the southwest quadrant of the low, will be lighter than they would have been if the low was slow moving.
This is because the motion of the low to the southeast partially cancels the winds, which are blowing to the northwest.
Conversely, the winds to the northeast of the low, offshore and away from New Zealand, will be stronger as they get the motion of the low added to them.
The reason Hola has sped up is because it has been captured by an upper trough, and its associated jet stream.
This commonly happens when tropical cyclones venture into the mid-latitudes, and the strong winds aloft are part of what causes them to transition into an ex-tropical cyclone.
TVNZ meteorologist Dan Corbett said the fast moving cyclone will deliver a "glancing blow" to the country as it speeds past the East Cape later today.
In the loop below winds near the surface are coloured by strength from white to green, while jet streams in the upper atmosphere are shown as yellow.
Once Cyclone Hola has moved away a calmer southwest wind direction sets up over New Zealand.
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