Heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds are in store today as an unsettled weather system sweeps across New Zealand. 

Fire and Emergency has urged drivers to keep an eye on surface flooding, after a person was rescued from their car in rising waters on State Highway 6 between Blenheim and Nelson last night. 

SH60 at Takaka and SH6 between Havelock and Rai Valley remained closed overnight because of flooding. 

Strong wind warnings are in place for Wellington until 7am and in Marlborough and the Canterbury High Country until 8am, with wind gusts of up to 130km/h possible. 

MetService meteorologist Alanah Burrows told the Herald the North Island was in for a particularly stormy Saturday. 

“We’ve got that heavy rain over the North Island with possible squally thunderstorms for the Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty early.” 

Those eastern areas of the upper part of the country are set to clear later in the day as conditions deteriorate further north. 

“Rain is then returning to the northern North Island in the afternoon and evening with possible thunderstorms, which could be heavy at times with small hail.” 

It was a rainy start for the South Island, where the heaviest falls were forecast for the West Coast with a risk of thunderstorms in the morning. 

A heavy rain warning remained in place for the next hour or so in the Westland District. A further 70 to 100mm rain was expected. 

Burrows said conditions should begin easing for many places throughout the afternoon, with some regions expected to get sunny spells later in the day, though swells up to 7m can be expected in southern waters. 

Tomorrow, the messy conditions are expected to continue, with a moderate chance of a strong wind warning being issued for Southland, Clutha, Dunedin and Stewart Island through the morning and afternoon. 

“It’s going to be an unsettled and cold showery southwesterly flow across the country,” Burrows said. 

The system will bring a noticeable drop in temperatures. 

“We’ve had some warm temperatures quite recently but as we’re turning to that southwesterly flow, it’s going to start to feel cooler again.”