UPDATED:

Fingers crossed Northland – rain is hopefully on the way… 

Yes, even at this late stage WeatherWatch.co.nz is still monitoring the fractured rain bands as they move across the country.  The good news as we head in to the final update of the night, is that showers are now clearing appearing on the rain radar that covers Northland.  

Further afield and a band of thunderstorms and heavy rain is apparent north east of Great Barrier Island moving towards Northland.  WeatherWatch.co.nz forecasters are confident eastern areas will receive some good rainfalls, but the fractured nature of the rain means not all parts of Northland will see sustained rain…

It’s also this fractured nature which is stopping us from saying this will be a drought buster.  We need to see how conditions are overnight.

WeatherWatch.o.nz will have updates throughout Monday – and we want to hear from you with rain measurements or eyewitness reports.

Storm from earlier this evening

WeatherWatch.co.nz is evening we’re predicting showery weather for Auckland Anniversary weekend, with some heavy showers and thunderstorms across drought stricken Northland tomorrow.

Weather analyst Philip Duncan says the low is currently moving across the Auckland region and tonight and tomorrow there will be a mixture of rain and showers over northern regions.  “Some areas should see some good rainfall figures, other areas will see more patchy shower activity.  Thunderstorms are very likely across Northland, especially tomorrow afternoon”.

“It’s probably not a drought breaker but I’m sure the rain will be very welcome” says Mr Duncan.

Eastern areas are predicted to get the heaviest falls pushed in by strong easterlies which will develop overnight.