Aucklanders are being warned to prepare for more downpours tonight, amid potential for a second “atmospheric river” sweeping into the upper north later in the week. Severe thunderstorms are expected to hit the region this afternoon, with MetService issuing a severe thunderstorm watch for Tai Tokerau and Auckland from 7pm today through to 10am on Monday as a slow-moving front drifts west over the regions.
Thunderstorms were possible with this front – some potentially severe – along with downpours reaching intensities of 20 to 40mm per hour. MetService meteorologist Georgina Griffiths told a media conference today that Auckland faced a “hang-in-there type of situation”.
“We are very vulnerable in the region at the moment to any rainfall … rainfall that normally would not cause problems is exacerbating slips and causing localised flooding. “We’ve already had some minor rainfall heavy showers in the southeast this morning, and we’ve had some problems.”
Because of that, MetService had lowered its normal thresholds for heavy rain for the region. “Of particular note is that the showers on the south and east have eased somewhat, but do continue on and off for the remainder of today,” Griffiths said.
“Some of those showers will pop up with modest rainfall amounts in central, and north and east of, Auckland later today. “Most of these won’t cause issues, but if we see any rainfall rates of 10mm or 15mm an hour, we may see some brief localised, ankle-deep type flooding.”
Still, this activity would be brief, and unlike what occurred on Friday. She said the main concern for the remainder of the day was for areas north of Orewa, including Warkworth and Wellsford.
“We are under heavy rain watch till 6am tomorrow morning. We also have risk of downpours and the MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the north of the region, north of Orewa,” Griffiths said.
“If we see those thunderstorms form tonight and overnight, and if we receive rainfalls in the 20mm to 40mm an hour range – which is getting up to what [some stations saw] on Friday, then we will see impacts in that northern region.”
Griffiths said Monday would bring a reprieve – and she encouraged Aucklanders to use the break to prepare for a “potentially significant” system arriving later Tuesday or during Wednesday.
“Given the region’s vulnerability, we may not need much rain in Auckland to see some impacts from a flooding slip point of view.”
Niwa Weather forecaster Ben Noll said details of that later-week event were still coming through, “but it looks like we could be in for another intense atmospheric river event for the North Island”.
-NZ /DG
Source : Nz
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