The forecasters and computer models are increasingly lining up and in agreement that next week Cyclone Gita will make a direct hit on New Zealand as a wind and rain event bringing a risk of flooding and wind damage.

Dangerous seas are also in the forecast with coastal flooding a possibility. The storm is still too far out to be precise about its exact tracking across New Zealand – or the timing of landfall – but it does look like around Tuesday or Wednesday next week the storm will come in from the north west.

It will technically be an ex-cyclone by the time it reaches New Zealand but that makes little difference to those on the ground as it may be just as intense.

This morning the Fiji MetService said Gita was a Category 5 cyclone with central air pressure of 927hPa.