It's an unsettled day for New Zealand as a series of fronts cross the country, leaving heavy rain and strong wind warnings and watches in place.
MetService says the northern half of the country is being blanketed by airmass "straight from the subtropics".
"With the sun hidden behind the clouds, all this warm and moist air keeps things humid and warm," MetService says.
"With a current dew point of 20.3C in downtown Auckland, rarely does it feel as humid as it does right now," NIWA adds.
"This very moist subtropical air mass is also fueling areas of heavy rain across the North Island today, not to mention lots of low cloud and fog."
Meanwhile, the west coast of the South Island has seen plenty of lightning this morning and there's still a moderate risk of further thunderstorms into the afternoon.
WeatherWatch warns over 200mm of rain could accumulate on the West Coast over the next few days as a series of fronts and lows move in from Australia.
"Rainmakers move through with pulses of heavy set-in rain and thunderstorms too," it warns.
"A large area will have over 200mm with some locations potentially closer to 300mm. 100mm+ may also fall in the days ahead for those around Mt Taranaki and National Park.
"Slips, flooding and road closures are all possible this weekend and the start of next week."
