Forecasters are predicting the "very fast moving' Cyclone Hola will begin have an impact on the top half of the North Island from tonight.
As tropical cyclone Hola looms closer to New Zealand, the storm was causing havoc near New Caledonia, with gusts up to 185km/h and swells expected to exceed 7 metres.
Hola has been downgraded from a category 3 to a category 2 cyclone, though Kiwis are being warned it could still bring an onslaught of wild weather.
The storm was expected to hover to the east of Northland around midnight tonight, before tracking southeastwards on Monday.
It would then lie just east of Gisborne in the early hours of Tuesday morning, before moving away from New Zealand later that day.
MetService meteorologist Amy Rossiter described the storm as "very fast moving".
"There's a bit of uncertainty around the track it will take," she said.
"Currently we're expecting it will touch on shore from Northland to the East Cape."
MetService was warning of heavy rain, surface flooding and slips in those areas.
Strong winds were also expected for Northland, Great Barrier Island, the Coromandel and Auckland, as well as further south in the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne.
The New Zealand Red Cross was urging Kiwis to prepare for the worst, by stocking up on food and locating the first aid kit.
The tropical cyclone has battered Vanuatu with winds of up to 230km/h. The roof of a classroom was blown off and some houses collapsed. There was also one death from a falling tree reported.
