KATHRYN GEORGE/So
Parts of the South Island and the west coast of the North Island expect heavy rainfall on Saturday
Significant rain warnings for Taranaki, Tasman and the central South Island have been lifted.
Early on Saturday, forecasts saw heavy rain warnings and possible thunderstorms in parts of the country, but by late afternoon MetService had no warnings or watches for parts of the country.
By 6 p.m., the main front had moved across central New Zealand and the rain had eased, MetService forecaster Tuporo Marsters said.
“The weather is quite dynamic.”
READ MORE:
* The weather front is expected to bring a ‘change of scenery’ over the weekend with warmer temperatures and rain
* Heavy rain and severe storms are forecast for the western and northern parts of the South Island tonight
* The ‘worst is over’ for Auckland and Northland, the rain is moving back towards Coromandel and Bay of Plenty
But while there were no more watches and warnings, bad weather was still in parts of the country, leaving the west coast with showers and possible thunderstorms into the evening.
The outlook for Sunday and Monday had a few showers across the country with a high pressure ridge moving across the North and South Islands on Tuesday, allowing for mostly fair weather with only a few showers around eastern Gisborne.
Marsters said Blenheim and Kaikōura were the best places to be on Sunday because it was “nice and good” with temperatures around 23°C and southerly winds arriving later in the day.
The Chatham Islands had the wettest weather forecast for Sunday with northerly winds and rain, he said.
Over lunch on Saturday, a MetService metrologist said observed rainfall in the Tasman Ranges was between 50-90ml of rain, with similar observations for the Westland ranges.