The upper North Island is in for a weekend of heavy rain as parts of the South Island remain under risk of avalanche.

MetService has issued heavy rain watches for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula and the Bay of Plenty lasting from Saturday morning until late Saturday night.

It said in most areas there was a moderate chance of upgrading to a warning except for the Bay of Plenty east of Rangitaiki River where there was a high chance of a warning.

"Periods of heavy rain, and amounts may approach warning criteria and possibly exceed them in localised areas if downpours occur."

MetService also encouraged people to clear their drains and gutters.

Parts of South Island still under avalanche risk after storm

Queenstown continues its clean up efforts after it was hit by wild weather causing flooding, slips and road closures.

Forty-five people were evacuated from their homes across the Queenstown Lakes District on Thursday night during the storm.

Firefighters went to about 16 flooding-related jobs during Thursday night across Queenstown, Frankton, Arrrowtown, Wanaka and Lake Hāwea.

MetService has lifted all warnings for the South Island but NZ Avalanche Advisory still has avalanche risk warnings for many parts.

Warnings remain in place across the Arthur's Pass, Aoraki Mt Cook, Ohau, Queenstown, Wānaka, and Aspiring regions until Saturday afternoon.

A high warning has been issued for Aoraki Mt Cook. Most other regions are under a considerable orange warning except for Queenstown which is under a yellow moderate warning.

The Mountain Safety Council's chief executive Mike Daisley said it has received reports of significant avalanches coming down to the valley floor.

"This is not just a warning to alpine skiers and people heading into high alpine regions and backcountry.

"If people are considering going tramping into sub alpine regions you need to be aware of the hazards above you."

Daisley said people should check the avalanche forecast before heading into alpine backcountry.

Tongariro is also under a considerable risk of avalanche as well as Taranaki which is under a moderate risk.

Traffic congestion after road closures

A number of road closures have also impacted the Queenstown region causing significant congestion in the town on Friday.

Fernhill and Sunshine Bay Community Association's Simone Bray said restrictions at the one mile roundabout brought commuters to a standstill.

"We live on the top of a really big hill so there's no active transport option for us either so we were sort of just advised if you don't have to go anywhere just stay at home.

"The traffic was built up but it was taking people about an hour and a half basically just to go down the hill to get into Queenstown which is normally a four minute drive."

Residents in Fernhill, Sunshine Bay, Queenstown CBD and Frankton Road are also being asked to conserve water.

There had been more than 20 slips, many of them substantial on the stretch between Lake Hāwea and Makarora.

Two cars and their occupants werte freed after being trapped between slips on State Highway 6 near Wānaka on Friday.

The section of SH6 would remain closed all weekend, NZTA said.