Orange strong wind and heavy rain warnings are in place for much of the South Island, while an Orange Strong Wind Warning for Wellington will come into effect at 10pm on Monday. Photo: MetService/Supplied
High winds caused several emergency call-outs in Wellington hours before the severe weather warning kicked in, after wreaking havoc in parts of the South Island thoughout Monday.
Fire and Emergency responded to reports of sheets of roofing lifting in Mornington and solar panels from a street light blown off in Kilbirnie around 5.30pm, and attended reports of a roof lifting in Martinborough late on Monday night as the region was battered by gusts.
There had been more than two dozen calls relating to high winds in Otago and Southland throughout the day, including trees, sheds and signs blown over, powerlines down and a partially overturned truck blocked a road in Tekapo.
Otago and Southland, along with South Canterbury, had born the brunt of Monday's winds which caused power outages, road closures, flight cancellations and other damage.
There were eight severe weather warnings still in place overnight for much of the South Island, as well as strong wind warnings for Wellington, Wairarapa and the Tararua District until 6pm Tuesday, and the Hawke's Bay from 10am to 8pm Tuesday, and a heavy rain warning for the Tararua range until 6pm Tuesday.
An active system had gradually moved its way up the South Island, and was expected to linger around Buller then move to the North on Tuesday, weakening as it went, MetService meterologist Devlin Lyndon said.
It had been "a story of two sides" as the system brought severe winds to the eastern South Island, while the West Coast had seen significant rainfall.
The West Coast could get between 90 to 140 mm of rain, especially about the ranges, in the warning period which ran until 1pm on Tuesday, which could cause rivers to rise and surface flooding, particuarly in areas that were already saturated, Lyndon said.
The system would weaken as it moved north, but areas including the Tararua district, Wellington, Wairapara and Hawke's Bay should brace for severe winds.
MetService warned another system bringing heavy rain and strong winds to similar areas was expected for Thursday, and was likely to be "significant and impactful".
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