UPDATED 2.31PM: The base track on Mauao is now open.

Tauranga City Council says it has reopened after tides have subsided making it safe for the public to walk around the track.

"We appreciate everyone's patience while the closure was in place."

EARLIER:

The base track around Mauao is now closed until further notice.

The closure is in place to maintain public safety while heavy sea swells, coinciding with high tide, continue to breach the base track, says a Tauranga City Council spokesperson.

"The closure will be reassessed this afternoon and the track will reopen when it is safe to do so.

"Warning signs advising of the closures are in place. Tracks to the summit of Mauao remain open. With more wet weather forecast, people using these tracks should exercise caution."

A severe weather warning is currently in place for the Coromandel Peninsula and western Bay of Plenty about and west of Tauranga including Kaimai-Mamaku ranges

"A slow moving low north of New Zealand directs an unsettled and humid east to northeast flow across the country," says a spokesperson for the weather organisation.

"Fronts embedded in this flow are forecast to move over the upper North Island during Wednesday and Thursday, delivering rain or showers to many places, with some regions receiving heavy rain."