The severe weather warning issued for the Bay of Plenty yesterday may have been lifted, but there are still predictions of more heavy rain for the region.

In the last 24-hours, around 20mm of rain fell in the Tauranga region with most of it falling between 8pm and 9pm last night.

The MetService is forecasting more rain before clearer skies kick in tomorrow. Photo: File.

This was also the same time a tornado hit the Mount Maunganui area.

MetService meteorologist John Law says there was potential for tornados in the thunderstorm outlook issued yesterday.

'The trouble is, they are very small systems,” explains John, and it's very hard to pin down where they are going to be.

'Our forecasts suggest areas where there is some potential and they're not out of the question.

'The conditions were there but pinpointing where they are going to form is the hard part.”

John says tornados can happen on a very small scale and can be hard to detect on the radar.

Another band of showers are forecast to move across the country with predictions of more heavy rain for the Bay.

'At the moment, they are aiming towards Auckland and down towards the Raglan coast,” adds John.

'I think there is a good chance we could find some heavy rain and a good rumble of thunder. It looks like there are some more thunderstorms in store for the Bay.”

The weekend is looking better in terms of rain, but the wind is expected to turn to a southerly direction, bringing colder temperatures.

'Perhaps a few showers to clear first thing on Saturday, but I think that should get better and brighter with clear skies,” says John.

'It is worth keeping in mind that with those winds turning to the south, especially Saturday night into Sunday, it could be on the cooler side so people should keep an eye on the temperatures.”