Is the end of New Zealand's seemingly endless summer in sight? The mixed bag forecast for the country this week could be a sign the warm weather is over.
Around 30,000 lightning strikes have hit land sea around the country in the last 24 hours thanks to the severe weather hitting New Zealand's west coast.
Wild winds in Christchurch last night brought down power lines and lifted roofs off houses as emergency services fought to combat the fierce conditions.
The Fire Service attended half a dozen callouts due to the gales.
One lane of State Highway 6 to Makarora remains closed because of storm damage. A minor slip has also closed a section of State Highway 8 on the Lindis Pass, and motorists are advised to take extra care in the area.
Severe rain and thunder storms have been forecast interspersed by mild, drier days over most of the country.
It is expected to come to a head on Friday when the worst of the weather is forecast to hit.
WeatherWatch forecaster Philip Duncan said: "[Tuesday] morning it may well be calm and mild and then it ramps up again on Wednesday and calms down again on Thursday and ramps up again on Friday.
Some places might be windy all week but it is this storm on Friday we are watching closely."
He said the thunder and the wind was tied into about three or four lows that would affect New Zealand over the next 10 days.
"We are going to get more of this and it is going to get worse as the week goes on.
"It is quite a big change from the warm sub-tropical lazy summer weather we have been seeing lately, this is kind of the stormier side to autumn."
Mr Duncan said the summer conditions were over for many parts of the country.
"The first half of May was a bit like summer. The big change that we are getting this Friday and Saturday is a really big Southern Ocean storm and that is going to drive in a cold southerly and drop the temperatures in the north. It is hard to climb back to those summer-like temperatures once you have had an event like this brush past the side of the country."
Yesterday parts of the country were lashed by thunderstorms while other areas further north battened down the hatches and braced for the bad weather.
MetService issued severe rain and thunderstorm warnings for Auckland, the West Coast and the Kapiti Coast and other west coast areas.
Air New Zealand said yesterday strong winds lashing the region may affect flights in and out of Wellington and passengers should check arrivals and departures.
Earlier in the day, the wild weather swept through parts of the South Island, including Greymouth, where locals spotted a forming water spout.
Mr Duncan said the current weather was ideal for small tornadoes.
"They are the sort of ones that we often get in spring whipped up by the chaotic nature of the wind. It is really winds and you have got thunderstorms with updrafts and down-drafts and it just sort of starts to create a very local, small tornado that doesn't go very far and will fall apart."
He said the mini tornadoes had the potential to cause damage, but the chance they would actually hit anything was "very, very low".
This year has been one of the warmest New Zealand has experienced. Since January, meteorologists have been chalking up record after record, including the hottest February.
The trend has continued into an unusually balmy May where temperatures have been averaging 1.5C above normal.
MetService meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said the first four months of the year were the warmest on record for Wellington, while Auckland had also seen one of the hottest January to April periods.
She put the pattern down to a high number of northerlies, a virtual absence of southerlies and unusually warm seas around the country.
On the global stage, last month was the hottest April and the seventh hottest month in a row to break records, the Guardian reported.
The outlook
'Whangarei: After a day of showers yesterday fine breaks are expected today and a high of 20C.
Auckland: A few showers are expected, mainly morning, with a high of 17C. Strong southwesterlies should ease..
Hamilton: A few early showers are forecast then the day is expected to be mostly sunny. The southwesterly winds should also ease.
Tauranga: Showers should soak the city today. There's a chance of heavy rain and thunder in the evening.
Napier: A few morning showers are expected, coupled with a strong southwesterly change. The day should then be fine.
Wellington: Showers are forecast to clear as southerly gales gust around 110 km/h. That should ease during the morning.
Christchurch: Chance of early showers, then the day should be fine. Southwesterly winds should also die off but will later become northeasterly.
Dunedin: Chance of morning showers and then fine. A high of 12C is expected.
(MetService)
