Tropical Cyclone Pam – Latest update 8pm Sunday 15 March

TC Pam to the north of New Zealand at 11am this morning - Tropical Cyclone Pam MetService

Track of TC Pam. The orange lines mark the uncertainty of the track. Times are given in UTC, add 13 hours for New Zealand local time - Tropical Cyclone Pam © MetService

ECMWF model showing the low centre to the east of the north island at midday Monday 16 March - Tropical Cyclone Pam © MetService

Strong southeast winds and rain are expected over much of the North Island tonight and Monday, along with extremely large seas about the east coast.

Wind gusts of 160 km/h or more are possible about the eastern Bay of Plenty and northern parts of Gisborne. Winds of this strength are likely to cause damage to trees and powerlines and could lift roofs and make for hazardous driving conditions. A burst of heavy rain accompanies these winds, with 180-220 mm possible about the Gisborne ranges.

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Significant combined waves in metres for midnight Sunday 15 March (left), midday Monday 16 March (middle) and midnight Monday 16 March (right) - Tropical Cyclone Pam © MetService

The image above shows the total combined waves (sea and swell) generated by cyclone Pam, which are expected to rise to 7-8m around the northern New Zealand coastline and even up to 9m around the northern Gisborne coast.

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