Heavy rain and strong winds make way north ahead of Matariki weekend, slips close roads
Highways remain closed and strong 120km/h gales are barrelling across Wellington and central North Island regions as wild weather moves up the country.
Taranaki, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay are now bearing the brunt of the rough weather, with rain and wind alerts in place.
A strong wind warning is in place for Taranaki and Wellington until 3pm, while a heavy rain warning is in place for the Hawke’s Bay ranges north of Napier until 9am tomorrow.
An orange heavy rain warning issued earlier for the eastern ranges of Horowhenua, Manawatū and Taihape, and some parts of Tararua district and Hawke’s Bay, has now been lifted.
Route 52 near Pongaroa is closed, with crews fromTararua District Council working to clear a slip.
The road is the main route to Dannevirke.
The council confirmed several roads were closed across the district, with crews responding to multiple sites.
Several local roads are listed as closed on the council’s website.
A heavy rain watch is in place for Gisborne, while Taupō, Taumarunui, coastal Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Kāpiti are all under strong wind watches.
MetService meteorologist Heather Keats told Ryan Bridge TODAY that this year’s bouts of severe weather had been “above and beyond” compared to usual weather patterns, with all eight rare red warnings warranted.
“Kaikōura got the three months of rain they should get in July in less than three days.
“Their average is 60.8mm total for July, and they got 165mm in less than three days.”
She said that, while more rain was expected in the region today, it would not have the same force behind it.
Kaikōura and Waitaki districts remain under states of emergency.
PowerCo is reporting 570 unplanned power cuts across Taranaki, Manawatū-Whanganui and Wairarapa as the regions are lashed with the wild weather.
Adverse weather has closed highways on both islands.
State Highway 35 near Martinborough closed overnight, with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi warning of concern around rising river levels at the Waihenga Bridge, meaning all bridges into Martinborough in South Wairarapa are now closed.
SH1 and Inland Route 70 at Kaikōura remain closed because of flooding.
SH8 between Fairlie and Twizel and SH85 between Kyeburn and Palmerston have now reopened after snow and ice forced closures.
Air New Zealand warned Wellington customers last night that there may be disruptions to their flights today because of the capital’s rain and wind.
A handful of regional flights out of Wellington Airport have been cancelled, including some to Timaru, Blenheim, Picton and Nelson. It is unclear whether these are weather-related.
Wellington Airport told the Herald that, while there had been “no disruptions yet, there could well be during the day due to high winds”.
Bluebridge Ferries has told passengers that sailings have been cancelled today, with high swells forecast through Cook Strait.
Keats said there may be a silver lining, with the weather expected to settle across most of the country from later today and tomorrow morning.
“There’s a ridge of high pressure, so we’ll see beautiful weather Saturday and Sunday.
“It does mean, though, we will see severe frost, even hoar frost, in some parts of the South Island.”
The temperature is expected to drop to 3C in Auckland overnight on Saturday.