Cyclone

It has the potential to be another "significant weather event" possibly bringing heavy rain and strong winds to northern regions that are still recovering from ...

Those in the upper North Island are urged to "keep a sharp eye on the forecast", with forecasters saying there's a risk of more slips and flooding.

MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said the cooler water would cause the storm to lose some of its energy and its cyclone designation before it reached Aotearoa. that’s a flooding risk.” “Easterly winds are likely to pick up about northern parts of the North Island during the weekend and there is low confidence of both warning amounts of rain and severe gales for Northland.” As the effects of the storm were still a few days out, MetService said it couldn’t predict exactly how much wind or rain it would bring or where it would go with a high level of confidence. Brandolino said if the ex-cyclone then tracked down the west coast of Northland and west of State Highway 1 in Auckland, that could bring storm surges from onshore winds to Northland, Auckland and Coromandel. Niwa meteorologist Chris Brandolino said the effects of the storm depended on where it tracked when it was forecast to hit late on Sunday.

The Australia Bureau of Meteorology named the cyclone this afternoon, as MetService expected it to bring severe weather to the upper North Island from Sunday ...

“All main global models apart from the Chinese brings a strong extra-tropical cyclone into the upper North Island late Monday. That does depend on the forward speed, how fast the system is moving and what part of the country it moves into,” he said. “The system is expected to track southeastwards, there are some differences in how quickly it is brought southeastwards and whether it will be near the country or whether it will be a little bit further away but certainly there is a risk of further heavy rain for northern parts of the country from very late on Sunday into Tuesday,” said Little. MetService meteorologist Peter Little said the cyclone would “absolutely” head towards New Zealand but also said it was too early to say if it would track over the country or if it would be further away. “When you’re talking about a system that was once in the tropics you could be talking about a month’s worth of rain or more. “That’s the kind of detail that is going to be refined in the coming days and that detail will actually mean a lot as to which regions see the most hazardous weather,” said Noll.

North Islanders are urged to "keep a sharp eye on the forecast", with the cyclone increasing the risk of more slips and flooding.

that’s a flooding risk.” MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said the cooler water would cause the storm to lose some of its energy and its cyclone designation before it reached Aotearoa. There was a 20% chance that the amount of rain further south – in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay – would justify a warning. There was a 40% chance of heavy rain on Monday for Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel, MetService said. * MetService was predicting the cyclone would continue barrelling southeast towards New Zealand on Friday and Saturday before losing some of its “tropical characteristics” on Sunday.

The weather system threatening the North Island has now officially formed into a named tropical cyclone.

"It is expected to track southwest remaining over water, before re-curving towards the southeast on Thursday, putting it on a likely path towards Aotearoa New Zealand. Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle is likely to start affecting the upper North Island late Sunday into Monday. A tropical low in the Coral Sea which is set to impact New Zealand has now officially formed into a named tropical cyclone.

The tropical low in the Coral Sea has intensified as expected and is officially named Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle, Australia's Bureau of meteorology says.

"On Monday, there is moderate confidence of warning amounts of rain for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula and Gisborne. There is low confidence of ...

High confidence: A 60% likelihood (or 3 chances in 5) that the event will actually happen. There is moderate confidence of severe east to southeast gales for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taupo. Moderate confidence: A 40% likelihood (or 2 chances in 5) that the event will actually happen.

The category-one storm was about 730km northwest of Mackay, generating sustained winds of more than 95km/h on Wednesday afternoon. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: ...

“At the moment it’s rated a category-three cyclone. Another tropical low near the Cocos Islands, northwest of WA, has a low chance of forming into a cyclone and continues to be monitored. “They’re going to pass either to the east or the west of us and as long as they’re far enough away it’s not a problem, but if they come straight up at the top of us they are.” The last category-three cyclone to pass near the island was Cyclone Dovi in February 2022, but its eye was 200km west of Norfolk. “I mean we’re only a very small island in a very big ocean and it’s generally the eyes (of the cyclones) that we look at. The cyclone is expected to pass near or potentially make landfall on Norfolk Island about 1440km east of Brisbane late on Saturday or early Sunday.

Thousands of passengers and crew on the Carnival Luminosa have been told they might be visiting Moreton Island instead of the Pacific islands.

Other cruises out of Brisbane have also been forced to change their route and itinerary. “Gabrielle is forecast to continue to track to the south during the rest of Wednesday and then south-east from Thursday, remaining well offshore of the Queensland east coast. A cruise ship that left Brisbane on Sunday for a seven-day Pacific tour has turned back in an effort to avoid a tropical cyclone in the Coral Sea.