Orange Warning for heavy rain in Hawke’s Bay, grave concerns for region still recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle, New Zealand

MetService, the national weather agency of New Zealand, issued an Orange Warning for Heavy Rain for the Hawke’s Bay region, as a complex weather system continues to affect the country. The agency has grave concerns for vulnerable areas due to the already saturated terrain.

• Areas in the region can expect to see 150 to 200 mm (5.9 to 7.9 inches) of rain over 48 hours.
• The heaviest falls are likely to occur from 15:00 LT on February 24, 2023, with peak rates of 20 to 30 mm/h (0.79 to 1.18 inches/h) possible.
• This weather system already brought unseasonably cold air, with a sharp change in temperatures throughout the country.

Following extremely heavy rains that hit the North Island in late January and the destructive Cyclone Gabrielle in mid-February, parts of North Island are now bracing for another extreme weather event in the form of heavy rain. The previous weather events had already taken a heavy toll on the area, and Hawke’s Bay, in particular, was impacted particularly hard by Cyclone Gabrielle.

MetService meteorologist Amy Rossiter advised today, February 23, that vulnerable areas like Esk Valley and the Wairoa District could be significantly impacted by heavy rain, given the slash and slit through the area. In addition to the Orange Warning for Heavy Rain in Hawke’s Bay, Heavy Rain Watches are also in force for Gisborne, Wairarapa, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, and the western Bay of Plenty.

MetService also warned that there is a risk of severe thunderstorms for much of the upper North Island today and tomorrow, with the potential that some of these thunderstorms could be severe. Downpours associated with these thunderstorms could reach peak intensities of up to 40 mm (1.57 inches) per hour, which can cause surface or flash flooding and may also lead to slips.

Severe Thunderstorm Watches have been issued for this afternoon (LT) for Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, the Hauraki Plains, and the Bay of Plenty from Te Puke westwards.

Rossiter advises people in these areas to prepare as best they can in case of a downpour, adding that localized 40 mm (1.6 inches) in an hour is a large amount of rain. Emergency services and lifelines working in recovery in the affected regions have been briefed.

This weather system already brought unseasonably cold air, with a sharp change in temperatures throughout the country. Alexandra in Central Otago, for example, experienced a high of 28.4°C (83.1°F) on February 21 but only managed to reach 12.3°C (54.1°F) on February 22.

Snow flurries were even seen as low as 1 200 m (3 937 feet) through Otago and Canterbury. However, the below-average temperatures are expected to slowly climb back to normal values through the weekend.

MetService has also set its eyes on the Tropics, monitoring a potential system that may develop mid-next week for any potential tropical cyclone development. At this stage, it is too early to tell if this system will have any effect on New Zealand’s weather.

Extreme and unprecedented: Severe flooding hits Auckland after entire summer’s worth of rain in a single day, New Zealand

National state of emergency declared as Cyclone Gabrielle causes widespread destruction across New Zealand’s North Island

References:

¹ MetService Orange Heavy Rain Warning for Hawke’s Bay – New Zealand MetService – February 23, 2023

Featured image credit: JMA/Himawari-8, Zoom Earth, The Watchers. Acquired at 03:40 UTC on February 23, 2023