Precipitation has been found across much of the central part of New Zealand today.  As we head into this evening we also find showers falling on Northland and Auckland.

Satellite pictures show that there is even more moisture on the way as the low continues to advance on New Zealand from the west.

As we go through tonight, tomorrow and Tuesday we will continue to watch for the possibility of heavy rain associated with thunderstorms.

Thunderstorms love take things to an extreme.  Hail, strong winds and heavy rain are all things that thunderstorms do really well.  So, it’s no surprise that any thunderstorms that we see tonight and tomorrow could put down localised heavy rain.

Which begs the question, “Where’s the best chance for thunderstorms?”

Tonight, the main thunderstorm threat lies along the western sections of the North Island, south to the north-western sections of the South Island.  This includes Northland and Auckland…south along the coast to Taranaki and then south to Nelson.

Tomorrow, that threat expands east a bit east.  The northern Waikato, the Bay of Plenty, East Cape/Northern Gisborne, Wanganui and Wellington could all see thunderstorms tomorrow.

On the Mainland, the chance for thunderstorms expands south.  The upper West Coast including Greymouth could see a few thunderstorms.

If you are in Auckland and you are hoping for a repeat of Friday night’s spectacular show, don’t have your standards set too high.  Whilst the chances for a few rounds of thunder and lightning are fairly good, they aren’t likely to be as big and booming as what you saw Friday night.

Homepage image/ Ben Hughes

By WeatherWatch.co.nz Analyst Howard Joseph