Mangatainoka River in Pahiatua. Photo: Supplied / Sam Te Tau
Sunday will be soggy and blustery across swathes of New Zealand, with rain, wind and thunderstorms all in the mix.
And snow is on its way, with road snowfall warnings in the south as well as the Remutaka Hills and Desert Road.
Flooding and slips closed roads in and around the northern Wairarapa town of Pahiatua on Sunday morning.
The town's stormwater system reached capacity about 5am on Sunday.
Tararua District Council said Huxley Street, Tiraumea Road and Halls Road were closed and people were being asked to avoid the area.
Pahiatua Track - the road linking the town west, to Palmerston North - had also been closed due to slips and fallen trees.
Tararua mayor Tracey Collis asked people to avoid travel in or near Pahiatua.
"The Pahiatua-Pongaroa Road [to the east] being closed off limits people getting to town from Pongaroa, from Makuri, where we understand Makuri's got a lot of water around it.
"But the Pahiatua Track is also closed, so the only road available for use is the Saddle Road."
One Pahiatua resident said he had not seen Mangatainoka River run this high in more than seven years living in the area.
Sam Te Tau checked on the marae this morning and found parts of the town submerged.
The town's ageing infrastructure would struggle to clear flood waters if heavy rain continued to fall, he said.
"Our drainage systems here are quite old in the town, so they are often slow to clear the water.
"Where the flood waters are quite high, I can't see them draining off quickly.
"I think if we get a lot more water this morning, that could be problematic."
The wharenui and whare kai of the Pahiatua Marae remained clear of the high waters at this stage, he said.
MetService said an orange heavy rain warning remained for the Tararua Range, with possible thunderstorms.
It was predicting 60-90mm of rain until 10pm Sunday, on top of what had already fallen.
Rain would be widespread across the Wellington region until 9pm Sunday, and could approach warning level; thunderstorms were also possible.
Most of the east coast from north of Masterton to Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti were in for a blustery Sunday, with north-west winds approaching severe gale in exposed places.
Meanwhile, NIWA said temperature differences between the North and South islands could be as high as 18 degrees on Sunday afternoon.
Warm air from the northwest is bringing heavy rain and unusually mild temperatures, with Hastings forecast for a high of 23C.
It was a different story in the South Island and the middle of the North, however, with snow predicted across the alpine passes, falling to low levels on Monday.
Stewart Island would struggle to top 5C.
MetService said a strong cold southwesterly flow was expected to bring snow down to low levels.
There are road snowfall warnings for:
- Porters Pass (SH73) (until 8pm Sunday)
- Arthur's Pass (SH73) (until 8pm Sunday)
- Lewis Pass (SH7) (until 10pm Sunday)
- Milford Rad (SH94) (from 2am-9pm Monday)
- Lindis Pass (from 6am-6pm Monday)
- Crown Range Road near Arrowtown (until 10pm Monday)
- Dunedin to Waitati Highway (SH1) (from 10am-midnight Monday)
- Remutaka Hill Road (SH2) (from 1am-6am Monday)
- Desert Road (SH1) (from 7am-10pm Monday)
There were also heavy snow watches in place for:
- Inland parts of Canterbury, north of Springfield, and Marlborough south of SH63 (until 10pm Sunday)
- Central Otago, south of Lake Wakatipu and Roxburgh, Clutha, Southland, Stewart Island, and Fiordland, south of George Sound (until 5pm Monday)
