Northern and eastern areas of Northland and Auckland north of Orewa are under a heavy rain watch on Wednesday.
The watches, which also cover Great Barrier Island, came into effect at 10 am, MetService says.
A low-pressure system southwest of New Zealand is driving a frontal band of rain eastwards, mainly affecting the top half of the North Island and Westland today.
The forecast, which applies for the upper North Island through to 1 am on Thursday, is for periods of rain with some heavy falls, and the amounts may approach the criteria for an upgrade to a warning.
The rainfall could be 25-40 mm/h with or without lightning and a low risk of thunderstorms.
The rain will ease from the north on Wednesday afternoon and evening, MetService says.
"The air-mass associated with the front is very warm and moist, especially for late winter," it says.
Meanwhile, in the South Island, there will be periods of heavy rain from 2 pm today through until 6 am tomorrow in Westland.
The rainfall may be especially heavy about the ranges.
The band of rain has made its way to Aotearoa from the Tasman Sea and might result in rain and showers for most of the North Island on Thursday.
MetService said temperatures were looking almost balmy compared to last week's polar blast, with overnight lows in the single digits rather than the negatives and afternoons climbing into the mid-teens across the North Island.
-RNZ
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