A week ago New Zealand was dealing with the remnants of the nasty New South Wales storm, this week some parts of the country will deal with the remnants of the deadly weekend storm that hit Queensland.

Once again we don’t expect a carbon copy of what happened in Australia to happen here in New Zealand – but it’s important to note that the sub-tropical wind flow is helping make for very heavy rain – and the West Coast of the South Island is in the firing line.

Already today the Government forecaster, MetService, has issued a rain warning saying 400mm of rain may fall in the ranges.  This is an unsually high amount of rain, even for the West Coast.  For most parts of New Zealand that is closer to 4 months worth of rainfall.

Flooding, slips and power cuts are all a possibility for those in western areas.

The high that is currently over New Zealand will slowly slide east this week – meaning the incoming torrential rain will be slow moving and could increase the risks for flooding.

Some rain will spillover into drought regions of the east coast – especially the waterways.  However strong to gale westery quarter winds are likely to keep things fairly dry and warm for many eastern areas.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz