Campers and residents along the East Coast are being told to prepare as remnants of Cyclone Cody track towards the North Island.

Forecasters are busy building a picture of just how bad the storm will be.

It is expected to move from where it is to south-southeast over the weekend and beginning of next week towards north of Aotearoa, making landfall over the Bay of Plenty.

If the forecast is correct, then gale to storm force winds are expected to affect a large portion of northern and eastern North Island and the upper South Island, resulting in large easterly swells of up to 8m, rips, and coastal inundation around exposed eastern coastlines.

It is also expected many parts of central and northern New Zealand will have heavy rain, with potentially torrential rain for the east of the North Island.

MetService has put out severe rain watches for Gisborne and Wairoa from Sunday to Monday. There are strong wind watches for north of Tokomaru Bay, a small town north of Gisborne, over to Whakātane.

Tairāwhiti has already been affected by rainfall and flooding in November and December last year.

Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stotlz said people needed to be careful.

"Please stay clear of our beaches, everyone that lives along the beach just watch out for what is going on there, and then again, as always, we might see some surface flooding."

Gisborne Civil Defence and Emergency Manager (CDEM) Ben Green told Morning Report it was still difficult to fully determine where the storm was heading and when it would make impact.

"There's certainly going to be the impact of that system going through here.

CDEM teams met with the chief science adviser and council today, he said.

"[On] Wednesday, we had our initial management team meeting to put in place our key messaging on putting that cyclone on watch."

Green said they have been checking in with key coastal communities areas to make sure they were aware, and especially with campers being in the region over the holidays, with the help of rural police and volunteers.

Northern Surf Lifesavers want beachgoers to remain vigilant this weekend.

Spokesperson James Lea said people needed to be aware of the conditions before getting too close to the water.

"Being very careful that shoreline."

Lea said there was a high chance some beaches on the East Coast may close.

Source: Radio New Zealand