The MetService has issued severe weather warnings for most parts of the upper North Island.
It predicts heavy rain for eastern Northland, Coromandel Peninsula and north of Gisborne, where it expects 150 millimetres to fall from Friday until Saturday night.
Auckland and eastern Waikato should expect strong easterly gales.
The MetService warns streams and rivers may rise rapidly and slips and surface flooding are possible.
It has also issued a severe weather watch for heavy rain in Auckland, north of Orewa, western Bay of Plenty and for the ranges of Gisborne north of Tolaga Bay.
