Gales of up to 200km/h and 2-300mm of rain are being predicted for parts of the North Island as Cyclone Gabrielle bears down on New Zealand.
The latest MetService update predicts monster waves between 5 and 7 metres or more and severe gales.
Damage caused by the gusts may be widespread, from Northland to Wellington, and could blow debris, down trees, damage buildings and cause power cuts.
The agency warns of storm surges from 0.4 to 0.5 metres and dangerous coastal inundation, particularly from Northland to Bay of Plenty and the East Coast of the North Island.
There is a heavy rain watch in place for 59 hours from 1am Sunday to noon Tuesday for Northland and Auckland including Great Barrier Island.“Rainfall amounts may reach 200 to 300mm or more during this time.”
A heavy rain watch has also been issued for 53 hours for the Coromandel Peninsula from Sunday at 10am, a 43 hour warning for Gisborne from 3pm Sunday and a 48 hour warning from 6am Monday for Hawke’s Bay.
A strong wind watch is in place for 60 hours from noon Sunday for Northland and Auckland north of Whangaparāoa and from 6pm that day for 54 hours a warning is in place for Auckland from Whangaparāoa southwards, and Coromandel Peninsula.“A significant period of severe gales and damaging winds is possible from Sunday through to Tuesday,” the update said.
The cyclone tipped to be one of the worst storms this century has now intensified into a “severe category three” storm and tracking shows a slight shift east - but it makes “little” difference to the severe weather risk for New Zealand at this stage.
WeatherWatch has issued new information about Cyclone Gabrielle early this morning, just before 7am, saying some of the most trusted global models they use show a “very slight shift” eastwards.“But [it] doesn’t change severe weather risks for NZ a great deal.”
NIWA said this updated tracking “would expose Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay to the worst weather”.
People in the upper North Island are being warned to prepare for up to 300mm of rain and 150km/h winds as Cyclone Gabrielle looms, with authorities now extending the states of emergency in Auckland and Coromandel.
Slated to be one of the “most serious storms of the century” by forecasting agency WeatherWatch, Gabrielle has been upgraded to a category two tropical cyclone and was likely to increase to category three today, the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research said.
‘We have three days to prepare’
Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson told the AM Show everyone was “very concerned” about the cyclone.
“The good news is we have three days to prepare.”
However, “if you have gutters outside your house, wear gloves, go out and clear the drains, because if drains are free it helps”.
The debris from the last flood was still to be cleared, the council aimed to get it sorted by Sunday, she said.
“We had contractors come in. We have the army coming in to help, we are all out trying to get ready for Sunday.”
Simpson encouraged people to keep an eye out for updates on Auckland Emergency Management’s social media pages.
“They will give key messages repeated on all media outlets.
”People should by now know where their local Civil Defence centre and community hub is,” she said.
“Have a plan. Some people may want to go there earlier, if you know where to go tell your friends and family when the storm comes get out a bit early.”
Auckland Emergency Management are also urging people in affected areas to make an emergency plan.
“Having a plan helps make actual emergency situations less stressful.”
