Auckland Council is urging residents to be prepared for "messy" weather, localised floods, and heavy downpours starting from Thursday night.
A number of heavy rain watches and warnings are in place around the country, as a complex trough crosses much of northern and central New Zealand on Friday.
It is forecast to be preceded by rain and strong northeasterlies for many places. A heavy rain watch and severe thunderstorm watch are in place from Thursday night until Friday.
Auckland Council emergency management general manager Adam Maggs said residents should take precautionary measures before the rain was expected to set in from about 8pm.
"Just check the drains around the property, if [residents have] got things that are loose and laying around, tuck them away, just do some of those checks that you'd do if you know some weather's coming in," he said.
"We're not expecting huge volumes of rain, but we are expecting lots of showers and messy weather coming from the north and the east."
The northern and eastern parts of the region could see more rain than other areas, Maggs said.
The rain would likely exacerbate already damp conditions, he said.
"Soils are saturated, so we're going to see run-off off the land, and there will be localised flooding likely," he said.
"Water's got nowhere to go except basically run-off, so we're likely to see, even with reasonable numbers, some localised flooding on some of our roads, some of the areas that would typically see surface flooding, might see that surface flooding until it's got time to drain away.
"We're not talking huge volumes of rainfall, just the fact that, at this time of year, we're already pretty wet anyway and we've just got more rain coming."
Residents should report any blocked drains or fallen trees to the council.
"If people see trees down, report a problem on the Auckland Council online website, it's important, and any blocked drains, feel free to call Auckland Council on 09 301 0101, and we'll get that resolved," Maggs said.
He warned rain could still be pouring on Friday morning, and advised motorists to take care on the roads and drive to the conditions.
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