Unsettled weather is expected to continue this week as active low pressure troughs and associated fronts cross New Zealand.

On Thursday another active low pressure system should move eastwards across the country, followed by strong southerlies about the east of New Zealand, says the MetService

There is low confidence further heavy rain will reach warning amounts about the ranges of eastern Bay of Plenty and central North Island areas.

'Also on Thursday and early Friday, strong cold southerlies spread northwards over New Zealand.

'On Friday, the cold southerly flow over the country eases, however another front is expected to move north over the South Island. The front should move over the North Island on Saturday, followed by a strong southwest flow.”

MetService issues severe weather warnings whenever there is an expectation of widespread rainfall greater than 50 mm within six hours or 100 mm within 24 hours, and/or widespread severe gales with a minimum mean speed of 90 km/hr or frequent gusts exceeding 110km/h.

Severe weather warnings are issued as and when necessary, and once issued are updated on a twelve-hourly basis until cancelled.

Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and any watches/warnings at metservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com.

You can also follow updates on MetService TV, on Facebook, @metservice and @MetServiceWARN on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com