Motorists in Auckland City are facing nightmare driving conditions on the roads today with nose to tails, near zero visibility in rain and torrential downpours creating surface flooding reports WeatherWatch.co.nz.

Minor to moderate surface flooding has been observed on some motorways and on side roads around the central city.

Motorists have been slowing to conditions with some motorways travelling at just 60km/h despite few vehicles.

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Spaghetti junction has been stopping and starting throughout the past few hours in both directions, but especially around lunch hour as torrential rain fell across the city.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says a particularly heavy band of rain moved across the city last hour and while the worst has passed for now more pockets of torrential rain are already moving back in.

Humidity remains in the high 90% range and coupled with warm air it feels more like 30 degrees in the city today.

But despite the heavy downpours no reports of serious problems have come in.

The rest of NZ

Elsewhere and torrential rain and thunderstorms are now hitting Northland.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says the lightning tracker has sparked up in the past hour around the top of the country as the main front slowly moves through.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says the risk for surface and flash flooding across Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty remains high this afternoon.  To a lesser extent coastal Otago and Dunedin are also at a high risk for surface flooding, but not flash flooding, as rain continues to fall there.
 

Where is the rain moving?

The main frontal band is very slowly moving across the top half of the North Island – because of its very slow movement, coupled with the heat and high humidity, the front is expected to continue growing this afternoon with the bulk of the torrential downpours heading across Coromandel Peninsula and into Bay of Plenty.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says the risk is high for surface flooding right across these regions, with a high risk of localised flash flooding.  A moderate risk is in force for slips around Coromandel Peninsula and western BOP.

Conditions will ease in Auckland, Waikato and Northland later this afternoon then ease elsewhere overnight.

Humidity will ease everywhere during Friday,

 

– WeatherWatch.co.nz