Heavy rain warnings for Northland, Coromandel Peninsula

Alerts have been issued as heavy rain and strong winds return to parts of the North Island, with bad weather forecast to begin later today.

There are orange heavy rain warnings for the Coromandel Peninsula and Northland.

MetService warns of strengthening easterly winds, heavy rain and the potential for thunderstorms from this afternoon into Tuesday.

A subtropical low and preceding fronts are moving south across northern parts of the North Island until Wednesday morning, bringing easterly gales and periods of heavy rain.

Rain is also expected to spread into the Gisborne region with periods of heavy rain expected north of Tolaga Bay tomorrow.

The heaviest rain is forecast for the northern and eastern areas of Northland. An orange heavy rain warning and severe thunderstorm watch cover the region from later today.

The orange warning applies from 3pm while the thunderstorm watch applies from 11pm.

Rainfall totals of 90-120mm are possible overnight with warnings of possible "intense bursts of rain and thunderstorms," according to MetService, but there is a low chance of an upgrade to a red warning

Weather watches also cover the Auckland region, including Great Barrier Island, as rain spreads over the area on Tuesday, accompanied by strong easterly winds, "which may reach severe gale force in exposed parts of the region."

There is a moderate chance Auckland's heavy rain watch, in force from 4am to 4pm tomorrow, will be upgraded to an orange warning, according to MetService.

But an orange heavy rain warning has been issued for the Coromandel Peninsula from 6am to 9pm tomorrow, where rain is expected to feed in from the east.

MetService meteorologist John Law said Northlanders could be in for especially heavy rain, after it had been a "dry but cool start" to the new year.

Law said: "The potential for intense downpours and thunderstorms within the broader rain band means some areas, especially in Northland, could experience significant rainfall in a short period.

"The strongest winds and wettest weather will affect areas exposed to the east. For Auckland, the heaviest rain is likely to fall north of Orewa, while the strongest winds will impact the eastern coast."

Strong wind watches have been issued for Auckland, Northland, Great Barrier Island and Coromandel Peninsula, with easterly winds possibly approaching severe gale force in exposed areas.

A heavy rain watch has also been issued for Gisborne/Tairāwhiti about and north of Tolaga Bay from 3pm Tuesday until 9am Wednesday.