Warnings on Friday afternoon. Photo: Screenshot / MetService
The wild weather of the last few days isn't over yet, with people being warned to keep an eye on the forecast as we head into the long weekend.
Wind and rain lashed Wellington and the west and top of the South Island on Thursday and Friday, causing travel disruption and some power outages.
While that front would mainly clear up by Friday afternoon, a new weather system was forecast to bring rain to almost everyone on Saturday.
"A large low pressure system is expected to move onto the South Island on Saturday, bringing heavy rain to many areas, and heavy snow to the high country from Canterbury to Otago," MetService said.
People should keep up to date with the latest forecasts, it said.
A raft of orange and yellow warnings and watches have been issued for Friday night into Saturday and Sunday morning.
MetService meteorologist Clare O'Connor told RNZ Saturday would be the "wettest day" of the long weekend.
More rain on the way for Otago, just weeks after flooding there. Photo: RNZ / Nathan McKinnon
"That's going to be wet for basically most of the country and then on Sunday we're seeing this sort of shift around to southeasterlies and that southeasterly is going to take all this wet humid air and then mix it in with some cold air and then it is going to then bring it back in to that lower part of the South Island unfortunately.
"So we are monitoring that carefully to see what the impacts could be."
She couldn't rule out potential flooding.
Places that had already seen a lot of rain - including Westland and Canterbury - would get more, O'Connor said.
And places that had been dry, such as Hawke's Bay, would be drier, she said.
"The watches and warnings (for Friday) will be lifted but we will see some issued for the weekend," O'Connor said.
"What we'll see is the rain heading back to these already saturated areas over the weekend, so Saturday and Sunday, that's where our main concern areas are."
South Island temperatures would also be dropping, she said.
"Our main concern around Otago over (Saturday) is actually the unseasonal snow fall that we're expecting."
The low should weaken and move out east of New Zealand by Monday, forecasters said on Friday, though severe gales could be back by then, for Wellington, Wairarapa and the Tararua District.
Warnings issued
Heavy rain warnings were issued for the ranges of eastern Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti/Gisborne, the Richmond and Bryant ranges, also the Rai Valley, Tasman District west of Motueka, Nelson Lakes, Buller, the Grey District, Westland and the Canterbury High Country.
A heavy snow warning was in place for Canterbury High Country south of the Rangitata River, also Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes District.
Heavy rain watches were issued for Queenstown Lakes District, North Otago and Dunedin, the Canterbury Plains, and Nelson/Tasman from Motueka eastwards, and Mount Taranaki/Taranaki Maunga.
And there was a strong wind watch for Fiordland and Westland districts, Taranaki and Taihape.
There were road snowfall warnings on six passes and mountain roads in the South Island.
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