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Source: ONE News
Bad weather has caused flight delays and some flooding in the North Island.
Several regional flights departing from Whangarei, Auckland, Rotorua, Taupo and Nelson for Wellington Airport have either been delayed or cancelled due to gusty southerlies and rain.
Meanwhile, fog patches at Sydney Airport are causing some delays and have forced international flights to divert to Brisbane and Melbourne.
Travellers are being urged to check with individual airlines for information about their flights this morning, but a spokesman for the airport says most flights are on schedule.
"Full operations will resume as soon as the fog lifts but there will be consequential delays as flight schedules progressively return to normal," he said in a statement.
For the latest Wellington flight information click here.
MetService reports that rain is expected to affect the upper North Island this afternoon and evening.
Showers in the Coromandel Peninsula, Northland and north of Auckland are likely to be heavier for a time this afternoon and evening with a low risk of isolated thunderstorms.
Waikato Regional Council says that the Piako and Waitoa rivers remain heavily swollen today following recent rains, while the Ohinemuri and Waihou have started to recede. Further west, the lower Waikato River remains high.
Waikato Regional Council emergency management officer Greg Ryan said the council would be keeping a particularly close eye on the Piako and Waitoa today as peak levels moved through the river systems.
There is potential for emergency ponding zones in paddocks near the Piako River to be receiving water from the Piako and the Waitoa over the next 48 hours.
"Our flood management infrastructure is coping well and is expected to help prevent any significant damage to property. But we will be monitoring the situation carefully. We will have people out on the ground regularly checking stopbanks and flood pumps," said Ryan.
However, the lower Waikato River is expected to remain heavily swollen for the rest of the week, especially around Mercer.
The Waikato River at Hamilton is also elevated due to the recent rains and residents can expect to see levels slowly recede there over coming days.
The New Zealand Transport (NZTA) agency also advises that contractors are still working to reinstate access to highways closed after severe weather earlier in the week.
NZTA says that the Karangahake Gorge on State Highway 2 between Waihi and Paeroa is open to single lane access while road crews continue cleaning up.
Also, a section of State Highway 25 between Coromandel Town and
Whitianga affected by a major slip west of Te Rerenga - before
Quarry Road - is open to single lane access while road crews
continue cleaning up.
While on State Highway 1, south of Cambridge, lane closures are in
place due to slips.
MetService also expects that snow showers will affect the Lewis Pass today, with 2 to 4cm of snow expected to accumulate near the summit.
Similarly, snow showers are predicted for Porters Pass, with around 1 to 2 cm of snow possible.
No road snowfall warnings are currently in place for Arthurs Pass, Lindis Pass, Milford Road, Desert Road and Rimutaka Hill Road.
For your region's weather forecast click here.