Commuters are being warned to be cautious on the roads as severe weather batters the North Island.
Severe weather warnings and watches are in place across northern and eastern parts of the North Island as heavy rain, strong wind and large swells hit the country.
MetService is also forecasting possible thunderstorms to affect Northland.
Waka Kotahi said lane reductions may be required and is advising motorists to be cautious, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.
MetService said heavy rain and gales are likely to affect parts of the North Island on Friday and in the early hours of Saturday.
What you need to know:
Wild weather is slamming the North Island
Several severe weather warnings are in place for the upper North Island.
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10:55am - People are being urged to avoid the area on State Highway 1 between Whakapara and Hikurangi as flooding closes roads.
Puhipuhi Road, and sections of Jordan River Valley Road have been flooded and most cars are unable to get through, police say.
Detours are in place but there is a long queu of traffic both north and south of the area on State Highway 1.
"Residents are asked to stay indoors and avoid driving, until the bad weather subsides and roads reopen," police said.
"In instances where travel is unavoidable, Northland Police ask drivers to drive carefully and be mindful of the conditions and fellow travellers."
10:50am - All lanes on the Harbour Bridge are now open as severe gales ease, Waka Kotahi says.
"Severe wind gusts have eased, and all lanes have been restored on the #SH1 Akl Harbour Bridge.
"We anticipate the bad weather will ease over the next few hours, until then continue to drive with caution around the network," it tweeted.
10:29am - All Pine Harbour ferry sailings have been cancelled until further notice because of the wild weather, Sealink said.
The company said it will aim to resume sailings this afternoon.
The 8am and 9am ferry from Half Moon Bay and the 10:30am Kennedy Point ferry have also been cancelled.
10:26am - 135 mm of rain has fallen in Whangarei since yesterday evening, according to MetService.
With a "whopping" 32.8 mm downpour between 6-7am on Friday.
10:19am - Hundreds of homes in the Coromandel have lost power as the township is battered by wild weather.
The Thames District Council said "pretty much the entire township" has lost power.
It also warned of debris and surface flooding across the roads.
MetService said heavy rain and gales are likely to affect parts of the North Island on Friday and in the early hours of Saturday.
MetService Broadcast Meteorologist Angus Hines told Melissa Chan-Green on AM the country can expect "humid", "mild" and "muggy" weather since the pressure is coming from the North so not dragging cold air with it. He said, if anything, temperatures could rise this weekend.
"Temperature wise we are looking okay but of course, that doesn't necessarily mean we've got lovely outdoor weather."
Hines said the severe weather is being generated by a tightly knit-low pressure coming down from the north.
"That's dragging a lot of humid rain later there from those warm waters north of the country down over Aotearoa, so it is going to be pretty soggy through Friday," he said.
Hines said strong winds will whip up large four to five-metre waves along the eastern coast of the North Island.
The rain is forecasted to move south into the Wellington region and then to the top of the South Island on Friday night.
Meteorologists are keeping a close eye on the weather leading up to the Rugby World Cup final at Auckland's Eden Park on Saturday, but Hines warns it's a bit of a "tricky" one.
"The good news is this main band of rain hitting Auckland today that will have cleared well and truly by tomorrow, but further showers are in the forecast for the Auckland region during Saturday," he said.
"Showers tend to be a bit more hit and miss, quite spotty, but I think across the course of the day there is a decent chance there will be a couple of showers across Eden Park which will probably make the track a little bit wet under foot."
However, Hines said most of the showers will have subsided in the evening.
"I think we will have to get just a little bit lucky for completely dry weather from kick-off to the final whistle but the optimist in me says it will be nice weather for the game."
Looking to Sunday, MetService expects the severe weather to calm, however, a front is expected to move east onto the southwest of the South Island on Tuesday.
There is moderate confidence in rainfall accumulations reaching warning amounts in Fiordland and the south of Westland and a low confidence in severe northerly gales for Fiordland and Southland.
