The MetService has issued a Gale warning for the Raglan Marine area as Cyclone Luisi approaches North Cape. No warnings are in place for the Raglan Whaingaroa land area and western Waikato, although easterly gales will accompany the heavy rain, with severe gusts of 120km/h in Northland, Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula, and 130km/h west of the Kaimai Range.
This animated map shows how although the centre of the cyclone is likely to track west of Raglan, most of the severe weather will hit the east coast.
SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
ISSUED BY MetService AT 10:12am 14-Mar-2014 URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST IN: Northland, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay Of Plenty Rotorua, Gisborne, Nelson, Marlborough, Auckland, Waikato
CYCLONE LUSI FORECAST TO BRING HEAVY RAIN AND EASTERLY GALES TO MANY PLACES.
Cyclone Lusi is expected to move southwards today (Friday), bringing widespread heavy rain and easterly gales to the North Island from tonight (Friday night), and the upper South Island during Saturday.
Rain is forecast to become heavy in Northland this evening, and 80-100mm are likely to have accumulated there by Saturday afternoon.
The rain should spread quickly southwards, totalling more than 100mm in Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne by Sunday morning.
In the upper South Island, Marlborough and Nelson look set to receive the most intense rainfall, with up to 170mm accumulating in the Nelson ranges from Saturday afternoon till noon Sunday.
Easterly gales will accompany the heavy rain, with severe gusts of 120km/h in Northland, Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula, and 130km/h west of the Kaimai Range.
This will be a significant adverse weather event, affecting many parts of the country, and more Severe Weather Warnings and Watches will be issued in the coming days. The heavy rain is likely to cause slips and surface flooding, and the severe easterly gales could make driving hazardous, lift roofs, and bring down trees and powerlines.
People are strongly advised to exercise extreme caution, and to stay up to date with the latest forecasts, Warnings and Watches.