Fiordland and parts of the West Coast are about to be drenched in up to 350mm of rain over the next two days. However, the rest of the country is in for a few days of “unchanged” weather, Zachar said. The front hitting West Coast early this week will start slowly moving north on Wednesday, bringing rain to Buller, Nelson and Canterbury. The cyclone is currently Category 2, but is offshore to the west of Australia and is forecast to continue moving west into the Indian Ocean and reach Category 3 tonight. Another tropical cyclone may form to the northeast of Australia in the next few days also.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 18, 2018 19:07 UTC