Heavy rain watches issued for the upper North and South islands

Heavy rain watches have been issued for the upper North and South islands.

At the top of the south, the Tasman Mountains, Richmond and the Bryant Ranges will get heavy rain from early Monday morning until midday.

Northland and the Bay of Plenty face heavy rainfall from the evening, easing in Northland by Tuesday and persisting on the east coast until Wednesday night.

MetService plans to update these warnings at 10am Monday.