A severe weather watch is in place for the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel areas as a strong northeasterly flow moves up the country.

This weather system is expected to bring a very warm and moist airmass onto the country on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Bay of Plenty and Coromandel are being warned of heavy rain in the next couple of days.

This is likely to bring warning amounts of rain and severe gales to many areas, says a statement from the MetService.

'A warning for heavy rain has been issued for Marlborough, Nelson, Buller and Westland. A warning for severe gales has been issued for Northland.”

A watch is currently in place for Auckland, Taranaki, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupo and the far north of Gisborne:

'A band of heavy rain is expected to move onto Auckland and Taranaki Wednesday evening and then spread east during Thursday.

The heaviest rain is expected to affect Coromandel Peninsula and the Bay of Plenty where total rainfall accumulations could reach around 200mm. There is potential for flooding, slips and hazardous driving conditions.”

People in all these areas are advised to keep up to date with the latest forecasts, especially since there is a high likelyhood that many parts of this watch will be upgraded to warnings.

Image: MetService.