Instability in the atmosphere is being blamed for the downpour in Tauranga yesterday, with 5mm of rain dampening the area in the last 24 hours.

MetService media and communications meteorologist Dan Corbett says the instability set off some showers and some thunderstorms in the area, with many of them off-shore.

Tauranga has seen about 5mm of rain in the last 24 hours.

'There has been quite a big change of the last few days with the big high sitting over the country.

Dan says Hamilton got 15mm of rain in the last 24 hours and the Eastern Bay of Plenty received 3mm.

'The weather is slowly going to start changing – and what has been very quiet and very, very dry and very settled, with the big high, will become wetter as the high moves southwest of the country.”

Dan says the high moving along country opened the door for a little bit of what 'we call weak instability in a piece of atmosphere”.

Dan says people can expect some showers in Tauranga next week and possibly during the weekend.

'A few more different weather systems will start to move across the country from the south-west; and one from the east slowly starting to increase the chance of rain.”