Afternoon and early evening converenges are forecast to produce showers across central parts of the North Island. The most unstable area is from inland Bay of Plenty across Taupo and Taihape, then over the Hawkes Bay and Gisborne ranges. In these regions there is a moderate risk of thunderstorms, producing localised heavy rain and small hail. In addition, these storms may be slow moving, with and associated low risk of SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS producing localised downpours of 25 to 35mm/hr. A lesser risk of thunderstorms extends from eastern Waikato down to inland Wanganui, and coastal parts of Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa, as depicted on the chart.
