KEY POINTS:
Gusts of up to 100km an hour are forecast to batter Wellington today while heavy rains for the Westland ranges south of Otira are set to dump up to 90ml in eight hours.
MetService forecaster Andy Downs said a strong moist northerly flow was bringing rain to the West Coast.
He said heavy rain was also forecast for parts of Otago, Canterbury, the Buller ranges and Nelson.
Mr Downs said the northerly gales in Wellington could be stronger than 100km an hour on exposed hilltops.
The Radio Network Weather Watch Centre analyst Philip Duncan said today started off cold with temperatures as low as 4C recorded in West Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula.
Mr Duncan said other centres around the North Island also recorded low temperatures with Hamilton at 1C, Taupo at -1C, and Napier and Hastings as low as -2C.
He said the low temperatures were due to a southerly that brought a light snow to low levels in Southland, Otago and Canterbury.
- NZHERALD STAFF
