More rain is on the way this week with possible thunderstorms in the North Island and weather warnings in place for the South Island
MetService is forecasting additional rainfall this week for already sodden areas, but much lower amounts than last week which saw widespread flooding across the Nelson-Tasman and Malborough region.
The Nelson-Tasman region's clean-up may be impacted following last week's severe flooding, as possible rain has been forecasted Monday afternoon and evening.
A heavy rain watch is in place for Tasman west of Motueka from 1pm to 10pm on Monday, with 20 to 35mm possibly accumulating in some places. While this amount is under the usual warning criteria, a watch remains in place due to the sodden ground in the region.
Nelson city is also likely to catch some rain later on Monday.
Moving up north, a low system pressure system crossing the North Island is expected to bring bursts of rain and possible thunderstorms.
Tuesday and Wednesday
On Tuesday, the showery weather is forecasted to subside in the North Island as the low-pressure system moves away.
However, a front arriving in the South Island is forecasted to bring heavy rain and strong northwesterly wind gusts to the bottom of the South Island.
An orange heavy rain watch has been issued for Fiordland with 100 to 120mm of rain expected from Tuesday evening until Wednesday afternoon.
A strong wind watch has been issued for Fiordland and Southland from 6pm Tuesday until Wednesday morning with winds possibly approaching severe gales at times.
Another wind watch has been placed for Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago from Tuesday night until 11am Wednesday.
As the front moves northwards on Wednesday heavy rain is predicted to spread up the West Coast and a heavy rain watch is in place from Westland south of Otira from Wednesday morning until Thursday.
"We're keeping an especially close eye on another low-pressure system that's forecast to cross the country on Thursday. Rainfall with this system could bring further impacts to already sodden areas like Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough, so we urge people to stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings from MetService," MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said.
"However, this system will be moving quickly, so we're not expecting continuous heavy rainfall on the scale of last week’s event."
After last week's unusually warm run of days, temperatures are forecast to return to normal this month and a settled end is expected to a very unsettled winter.
