The strongest winds to hit Dunedin this year felled trees, downed powerlines and scuppered travel plans at the weekend.
MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden said the city recorded gusts of 77kmh about 3pm on Saturday — its strongest of the year so far.
Port Chalmers experienced gusts of 126kmh at 5pm.
The radar at Nugget Point recorded winds of 151kmh at 4pm, while the radar at Lamb Hill, north of Dunedin, peaked at 179kmh at 2pm.
That was the "windiest for the whole country" on Saturday, Mr Lynden said.
"That’s pretty damn rapid."
Winds today were not expected to be nearly as strong as those on Saturday, but "slightly gusty conditions" would continue through the remainder of the week, he said.
Crews attended until the power was isolated and the lines company took over the scene.
About the same time, a tree came down "completely blocking" the northbound lane of State Highway1, about halfway to Waitati.
The tree was cleared using a chainsaw and contractors were called to clean up the road.
The winds at one point also lifted a piece of flashing from the roof of a commercial building, the spokesman said.
A Dunedin Airport spokeswoman said four return flights were cancelled due to wind in the city on Saturday — three flights from Christchurch and one from Auckland.
A video online showed Air New Zealand flight NZ675 make two attempts to land in Dunedin before having to turn back.
