Yellow rain watches issued for Northland, Auckland and Westland

Around 15 hours of rain could be on the way for many in the upper North Island.

As a front makes its way across the upper North Island heavy rain is in store for eastern and northern areas.

A heavy rain watch comes into force at 10am and spans across Wednesday.

The Mandi-Manali stretch of the Kirathpur-Manali National Highway was closed to vehicular traffic following a landslip near the Jhalogi tunnel in Mandi district. The road will be opened after the rain stops and the situation is normalised, says officials