Forecasters are expected to issue a swathe of warnings this morning, with rare red alerts likely, as a “multi-hazard”, potentially life-threatening cyclone approaches New Zealand.

Current weather watches are expected to be replaced by orange warnings, with red rare warnings being considered for the most vulnerable North Island regions.

MetService forecaster Heather Keats told Ryan Bridge TODAY there’s now more clarity on the path of the “very large, damaging weather system”.

“It’s expected to cross over the top of the Coromandel Peninsula, move over Bay of Plenty, come across Hawke’s Bay and flick out to the east.

“Winds will be the biggest impact from the storm - it’s very fast - so it’ll race across on Sunday, but the worst weather will be felt on either side of the eye of the storm and last about 36 to 48 hours.”

She warned people “to take seriously” the dangers around this potentially life-threatening storm.

Civil Defence warns risk of death high

Director of Civil Defence at National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) John Price told Ryan Bridge TODAY the “ability to die in these types of events is high”.

“People need to take this very seriously.

“Do not drive into floodwater, do not walk into floodwater. You will die, we’ve seen it, it happens.

“Even 15cm of water can knock you off your feet … you don’t know what’s in it, the velocity of it, the speed.”

Price said landslides and affected roads are “almost a certainty.”

He said agencies have taken advantage of the clear weather to “preplan, preposition and have best posture possible”.

“Councils are working across as a system; we’ve taken very early posture, as soon as we saw threat, all government agencies stepped up.

“Trust in confidence in partner agencies doing best … we’re meeting regularly, we’ve preplanned, we are prepositioned and have good posture.”

MetService meteorologist Alanah Burrows earlier told the Herald the severe weather team has issued these widespread warnings as a “heads-up” for people to prepare.

“We’ve kind of got this window of better weather just before it hits, so you could use this time wisely to prepare yourself.

“You might want to think about getting prepared, tying down loose items outside, stocking up your home,” she said. “In those strong winds, you could have damage to power lines - you might want to get batteries, torches.

“Because it’s the end of the holidays or it’s within the holidays, so maybe people should start considering their travel plans for the weekend.”

Image of wind forecast for 6am, Sunday April 12, 2026. Image / NIWA 

Auckland Council’s Emergency Management yesterday activated its Emergency Co-ordination Centre, while its Healthy Waters team has also been stood up to check flooding hotspots.

At least one cruise ship is altering its itinerary, docking in Auckland tomorrow instead of heading to Tauranga due to the cyclone.

A spokesperson said docking in Tauranga first could have affected the ship’s planned arrival in Auckland on Sunday, when bad weather is expected to be at its worst.

Its scheduled departure from Auckland to the Bay of Islands on Monday may also be cancelled “depending on what the storm does”, they said.

“Discovery Princess is going to spend two days in Auckland to ride out the storm. The Port of Auckland tugs could be busy looking after her.”

Another cruise ship, the Norwegian Spirit, has also adjusted its schedule to avoid the Bay of Islands and Tauranga, instead travelling south where it will dock in Wellington on Sunday morning.

Cloudy and showers before cyclone hits

Today’s weather across the top of the country will be relatively cloudy, with the possibility of showers in the afternoon for the west coast of Northland, southern Auckland and the Bay of Plenty.

The first indications of the cyclone will make landfall tomorrow night as severe gale-force winds exceeding 120km/h begin in Northland, Auckland and Great Barrier Island, while heavy rain is expected to be in the 100 to 180mm range in some areas.

These extreme gusts will continue throughout Sunday, causing heavy swells and possible damage to trees, powerlines, and unsecured structures.

The tropical cyclone will be accompanied by a humid air mass, with several “quite warm and sticky” nights ahead for the North Island.

Taupō will be a staggering 10C hotter than usual, while Auckland and Gisborne will both be sitting at 6C above average.

In the South Island, today’s weather will be largely fine and sunny despite some morning cloud, which will continue into tomorrow for most of the region.

Fiordland can expect a bit of rain in the far southwest overnight, and northern areas like Nelson and Marlborough might see “the odd spot of rain”.