New Zealand braces for wild weather; heavy rains, severe gale and snowfall warning issued

Many regions of New Zealand will face the vagaries of weather with heavy rainfall, severe gales and snow storm likely to hit the North as well as the South Islands. The country's biggest city, Auckland, will witness strong winds and authorities have cancelled ferry services in Wellington due to 10-metre high swells in the sea.

Parts of South Island including Christchurch will have mild to heavy snowfall. An orange rainfall warning has been issued for many areas on the island and some parts of Christchurch have been flooded. Canterbury is expected to receive up to 230mm of rain and snow, too, and the northern part of the city has seen some landslides.

But no loss of life and property has been reported till now.


Flight services to and from Wellington tonight (April 30) and tomorrow (May 1) will most probably be hit due to win speeds reaching up to 130km/h, according to the weather forecast agency MetService. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research gave a slightly lower figure for the wind speed at 120km/h.

Trees could be uprooted and powerlines damaged due to the gusts.

Strong wind watch warning is in place for at least five hours from 7am to on May 1 in Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, and Waikato north of Hamilton. The forecast states that westerly winds may approach severe gale in exposed places and there is "a moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning".

The South Island's eastern side could se the worst weather with MetService stating the storm “could be a significant weather event, with large amounts of rainfall expected between today and Friday". The regions facing heavy rainfall could also face some localised flooding, landslips and poor driving conditions due to wet and slippery roads.

Wairarapa's coasts will face strong winds for 15 hours staring 9am on May 1 while Wellington will have a longer time period of bad weather which will start at 3am and continue for the next 21 hours.

Several other cities and regions like Marlborough Sounds, Horowhenua and Kāpiti Coast, inland areas of Wairarapa, the Tararua District, and Hawke’s Bay south of Hastings will be under weather watch, stated MetService.