After being pounded by 25.8 milimetres of rain on Thursday, Wellingtonians need to get the umbrellas out again.

Another low will sweep heavy rain down the country, with the worst hitting the capital on Sunday.

The forecast downpour has prompted warnings for many areas still recovering from drenchings earlier this week, including Northland, northern Gisborne, Waikato and Marlborough.

''The impending wet weather will put the dampener on weekend plans and more importantly, further heavy rain on saturated ground could pose a flooding risk across parts of New Zealand.''

But while Wellington would be hit by ''yucky'' weather on Sunday, it wouldn't be as severe as in areas more exposed in the east, MetService meteorologist Dan Corbett said.

''Saturday is the good day, it's the outdoor day. Sunday is the movie day.''

The rain would start in Northland and make its way down on Saturday, with Wairarapa also likely to see heavy downpours, he said.

''It will be six to eight hours of heavy persistent rain.''

The bad weather would continue into Monday and Tuesday as the front with temperatures expected to be about 10 or 11 degrees.

''Remember how yesterday [Thursday] felt yucky? It will be like that.''

Places along the east coast that had already experienced heavy rain were in for the worst battering, he said.

A severe weather warning has been issued for parts of Northland.

However, the MetService warned that the front was expected to last for several days, so warnings could change and people should keep up to date with forecasts.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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