Rain, thunderstorms for parts of North Island

The upper North Island has been hit by heavy rain overnight, and the rain is expected to continue this morning.

Auckland and Waikato had seen the heaviest rainfall, with Waiuku in rural south Auckland recording about 30mm of rain overnight, MetService said.

Meanwhile up north: the rain that affected Auckland overnight moves away east of the Coromandel, but scattered heavy showers cross Northland from the west pic.twitter.com/IJK68Uez33

— MetService (@MetService) April 18, 2024

About 27mm of rain was recorded in the area between Hamilton and Pukekohe.

Coromandel has also received about 10mm of rain over the past hour.

The weather was expected as a low-risk thunderstorm had been forecast for the western North Island, from Taranaki to Cape Reinga, MetService said.

However, Horowhenua, Wellington and the east coast would stay dry.

While showers will be around today, cloud to our northwest represents steadier rain.

This rain, some of it heavy with thunder, will impact much of the upper North Island tonight & tomorrow.

Might be good to consider indoor plans. pic.twitter.com/grZtD8Lczp

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) April 18, 2024

For the South Island, moderate thunderstorms have been forecast for Fiordland and Stewart Island, expected to bring up to 25mm of rain.

Later in the day, North Otago and South Canterbury could also expect some thunderstorms.