The MetService predicts tropical cyclone Vania, currently bearing down on New Caledonia, will bring bad weather to parts of New Zealand next week.
Spokesman Bob McDavitt said today the MetService "now has moderate confidence that the remnants of Vania may bring a day or two of heavy rain and severe gales to parts of the North Island and northern regions of the South Island on Tuesday and Wednesday."
AFP reported authorities in New Caledonia today issued their highest level storm warning, urging people to stay indoors as Vania barrelled towards the South Pacific islands.
Meteorologists said Vania, packing winds of 100kmh and with gusts of 150kmh, had passed the island of Lifou overnight and was headed for New Caledonia's main island.
Emergency shelters were opened in the capital Noumea to provide temporary accommodation for people from slums on the outskirts of the city.
Weatherwatch.co.nz head weather analyst Philip Duncan said trees had been flattened, roofs ripped off buildings and powerlines torn down as Vania battered the Pacific.
Winds peaked at more than 200kmh as the cyclone approached New Caledonia today, after causing carnage in Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, earlier in the week, "It's now a severe tropical cyclone so it's one to definitely watch," Mr Duncan said.
Islands off the coast of New Caledonia were on high alert on Friday and residents were preparing to be buffeted in the nation's capital, Noumea.
Mr Duncan warned that New Zealand could feel the effects of the cyclone next week, with hurricane-force winds and flooding possibly occurring in low-lying regions at the north of the North Island.
Mr McDavitt said Vania was likely to leave the tropics late tomorrow and then slowly unravel.
However, there were several isobars compacted around its centre and there might be another tropical system chasing it on Sunday.
MetService forecasters were keeping a close watch on the situations.
