Rain watch in place for West Coast, lower North Island

There are heavy rain watches in effect for parts of the West Coast and lower North Island overnight into Sunday.

MetService said that there is a front moving slowly over the northwest of the South Island from tonight through to late Sunday afternoon.

A moist northwest flow ahead of the front may bring periods of heavy rain to western areas of the South Island and the Tararua Range, the forecaster said.

There are heavy rain watches in place for the Tararua Range, Tasman west of Takaka, Nelson Lakes and the Canterbury High Country north of Mount Arrowsmith from tonight into Sunday afternoon.

For more details and the latest forecasts, visit MetService's warnings page.