Gusts strong enough to blow cyclists off their bikes have shut part of Wellington’s waterfront this afternoon as a fast-moving front that dumped 154mm of rain on Milford Sound sweeps north.
MetService has issued strong wind and heavy rain warnings for most of the South Island and parts of the lower North Island, with police closing a stretch of Oriental Parade and Evans Bay Parade due to severe winds.
"There have been reports of multiple people falling from bicycles, and wing mirrors being blown off cars," police said.
"The road around the point is being closed from Carlton Gore Rd in Oriental Bay, around to Rata Rd in Haitaitai where it intersects with Evans Bay Parade."
Wellington Airport said around 20 arrivals had been cancelled due to wind so far, with that number likely to rise.
"We advise passengers to check directly with their airline for information on specific flights."
MetService meteorologist Gerard Bellam told 1News heavy rain was expected for other western parts of the South Island through Monday evening into Tuesday.
Severe north-westerly gales are hitting ahead of the front. Castle Point, on the Wairarapa coast, recorded a gust of 141km/h at 8am, while Mount Cook Airfield recorded 124km/h.
In Wellington, Kelburn recorded a gust of 122km/h, and Bellam said the wind was churning up the harbour.
“We can see the white horses barrelling across the harbour there.”
Strong northwest gales have whipped up dust across the South Island ahead of a front tracking up the island. (Source: Supplied)
A weather station in the Canterbury High Country, about 2000m above sea level, recorded a gust of around 200km/h. Bellam said the reading did not reflect conditions at ground level but was a warning for anyone in the hills.
“People may have seen the warnings, hopefully not gone tramping.”
The front is expected to approach Christchurch around midnight, before moving up the North Island soon after dawn on Tuesday. It should clear to the north-east by the end of the day, and watches and warnings will expire behind it.
The front will also bring a sharp drop in temperatures for the south. Dunedin reached 26C on Monday, a degree warmer than Sunday and well above its late-October average of about 16C. Christchurch and Timaru both hit 25C.
Bellam said the warmth was caused by the Foehn effect, when north-westerly air dries out crossing the Southern Alps and heats up quickly as it descends onto the Canterbury Plains.
A cold south-westerly change is due behind the front, and Dunedin’s maximum is forecast to drop to 13C on Tuesday.
“We’re literally halving the expected maximum there tomorrow.”
Invercargill is expected to fall from 22C on Monday to 12C on Tuesday, then 11C on Thursday, below its usual 15C.
Full list of weather warnings and watches
Heavy Rain Warning - Orange
Tararua Range - 9 hours from 2am to 11am Tuesday
Grey and Buller districts - 8 hours from 10pm Monday to 6am Tuesday
Headwaters of the Otago lakes and rivers - 11 hours from noon to 11pm Monday
Fiordland - 11 hours from 9am to 8pm Monday
Westland District - 18 hours from 9am Monday to 3am Tuesday
Headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers, about and south of Arthur’s Pass - 11 hours from 4pm Monday to 3am Tuesday
Strong Wind Warning - Orange
Marlborough - 15 hours from 5pm Monday to 8am Tuesday
Wairarapa - 14 hours from 9pm Monday to 11am Tuesday
Wellington - 15 hours from 7pm Monday to 10am Tuesday
Canterbury High Country and the Plains - 19 hours from 9am Monday to 4am Tuesday
Otago - 11 hours from 10am to 9pm Monday
Fiordland, Southland and Stewart Island - 10 hours from 9am to 7pm Monday
Heavy Rain Watch
Queenstown Lakes District away from the headwaters, Southland and Stewart Island - 10 hours from 1pm to 11pm Monday
Strong Wind Watch
Tararua District - 14 hours from 11pm Monday to 1pm Tuesday
Horowhenua and Kāpiti - 8 hours from 3am to 11am Tuesday
Christchurch - 8 hours from 6pm Monday to 2am Tuesday
SHARE ME