Severe gales, heavy rain and surface flooding are among the wild weather conditions expected for parts of central New Zealand this morning.
MetService said severe gales reaching 130 km/h were expected to blast exposed parts of Wellington and southern Wairarapa before easing this afternoon.
"Winds of this strength can bring down trees and powerlines and make driving conditions hazardous for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles," MetService said.
The New Zealand Transport Agency said roadworks at Vivian St and the Basin Reserve were cancelled last night due to bad weather.
Fire Service Central Communications said it was alerted to a few jobs involving fences being blown over but had no reports of major damage in the southern North Island.
Meanwhile, heavy rain was expected to continue in the Tararua area until about 3pm.
MetService also issued a heavy rain warning for Fiordland, northwest Nelson and parts of the lower and central North Island.
"An active trough that has brought large amounts of rain to Westland today is expected to affect Nelson this evening and then move slowly northeast over the North Island bringing heavy rain to the ranges of northwest Nelson, the Tararua Range, Taranaki, Waitomo, Taumarunui and Tongariro National Park," MetService said.
A separate, weaker trough was forecast to move northeast into Fiordland this morning, bringing a burst of heavy rain.
NZME.
