The South Island is set to bear the brunt of the bad weather on Thursday with warnings and watches in place along the West Coast.
MetService has issued a range of heavy rain warnings and watches for the entire West Coast of the South Island over the next 24 hours. Here are all the warnings and watches in place issued by MetService.
Nelson region
Metservice has issued a heavy rain warning for Tasman west of Motueka from 1am to 7pm on Thursday with up to 150mm of rain expected.
Peak rates of rain could be up to 30mm/h with the weather potentially causing streams and rivers to rise rapidly while surface flooding is possible, MetService warns.
Buller
The forecasting company has issued a heavy rain warning for Buller and Westland north of Otira from 1am on Thursday to 1am on Friday.
MetService said the area could expect up to 90mm of rain to fall especially on the coast on Thursday morning and early afternoon.
Westland
Westland south of Otira is expected to bear the brunt of the rain with a heavy rain warning in place for the area from 8pm on Wednesday to 11pm on Thursday.
MetService said the area could see up to 300mm of rain in the ranges with everywhere else in the region expected to get up to 150mm.
The peak rate of rain is scheduled for Thursday morning with 40mm/h expected, which could bring thunderstorms.
Fiordland
MetService has issued a heavy rain warning for Fiordland north of Breaksea Sound from 8pm on Wednesday to 6pm on Thursday with 160mm of rain expected.
"Heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous," MetSerivice said.
Otago lakes
A heavy rain watch is in place for the Otago lakes from 8pm on Wednesday through to 9pm on Thursday.
MetService warns the region could see periods of heavy rain with possible thunderstorms.
Arthur's Pass
A heavy rain watch is also in place for the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers and south of Arthurs Pass from 8pm on Wednesday to 11pm on Thursday.
The forecaster warns the region could see periods of heavy rain with possible thunderstorms while rainfall amounts could approach warning criteria.
Marlborough Sounds
The last of the watches on the South Island is for the top of the island.
MetService has issued a heavy rain warning for the Richmond Range and Rai Valley area and also northwestern parts of the Marlborough Sounds.
The watch is in place from 4am to 10pm on Thursday, with MetSerivice saying rainfall could approach warning criteria while thunderstorms are possible.
Mount Taranaki
The only warning for the North Island is for Mount Taranaki with a heavy rain watch in place from 6pm on Thursday to 8am on Friday.
MetService said the region could see a period of heavy rain while rainfall amounts could approach warning criteria.
There has been a major contrast in weather across the South Island overnight.
Milford Sound was the wettest place in New Zealand overnight (7pm to 7am) with 145.4mm of rain, while Mt Cook Airport was the windiest with 98km/h gales. Lyttelton near Christchurch had the warmest overnight temperature of 21.3 degrees.
Wild weather has also been seen in Queenstown on Thursday morning with a lightning strike believed to be behind areas of the city losing power.
"Wow! Loudest thunder ever in Queenstown," one person said on Twitter. "The echoes around the hills made me think it was a landslide."
MetService said There's been plenty of lightning over the South Island on Thursday morning.
"286 strikes in the last 3 hours to be exact! Queenstown had 9 this morning, making up for quite the wakeup call," MetService said.
