Thunderstorms have been hammering northern areas of New Zealand on Monday afternoon - and following closely behind are plummeting temperatures.
Waikato to Northland will be stuck by "high impact weather" during rush hour, NIWA warns, with very heavy rain and high wind gusts possible from 4-8pm.
Already heavy downpours now moving through Auckland and MetService has issued severe thunderstorm watches for northern areas.
"The main reason for the watches is the potential for localised downpours, with up to 40mm in an hour expected in places," MetService warns.
"This kind of rain is likely to cause surface flooding and possible slips, and makes driving treacherous. The heavy rain will hit around the evening commute, so take care on the roads."
But the thunderstorms are just the beginning. Following in their wake is a massive drop in temperatures.
"As the South Island has already seen, rainfall significantly drops (if not ceases)... but so will temperatures," MetService warns.
"Eastern coasts will see the greatest drops with uninterrupted southerlies in dragging cool air from the Southern Ocean.
"Some inland areas may even see early morning frosts with Blenheim's overnight temperature on Wednesday forecast to lower to 3degC - the lowest since November."
Newshub.
