Severe gales, heavy rain on the cards for upper North Island

September 8, 2021
A person standing in a storm underneath an umbrella.

Parts of the upper North Island are in for severe gales and heavy rain on Wednesday, while heavy snow is possible for Fiordland.

MetService has issued a number of weather watches, which are in place into the evening.

Thanks to two fronts, a strong wind watch is in place for Auckland, Great Barrier Island, the Coromandel Peninsula, and the Waikato north of Hamilton. 

It is in place from 11am until 7pm, with southwest winds expected to approach severe gale in exposed places.

Meanwhile, a heavy snow watch is in place for Fiordland south of Te Anau. This has been valid since 3am and is in place until 6pm. 

Snow is expected down to 200 metres during this time, with heavy falls above 400m.

Snow amounts may approach warning criteria above 400m.

A number of road snowfall warnings are also in place across the country. This includes the Desert Road, Lewis Pass, Lindis Pass, Crown Range Road and Milford Road. 

A heavy rain watch had been in place until 1am Wednesday for parts of the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne.

To keep up to the date with the latest weather watches and warnings, people can visit MetService's website

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