Southerlies cause transport chaos in Wellington

Severe southerly winds have been creating havoc in Wellington today, causing the cancellation of all Cook Strait ferry crossings and severely disrupting flights.

Toll Shipping spokeswoman Sue Foley said Interislander passenger ferries were halted this afternoon because of 5.8m swells in the Cook Strait.

She said crossings would resume tomorrow morning if the bad weather had eased.

Wellington Airport duty manager Stephen Ryvinsky said Air New Zealand had suspended domestic operations at the airport because of the wind.

However, other domestic carriers hadn't followed suit, and international flights were still going out, Mr Ryvinsky said.

Air New Zealand spokeswoman Andrea Dale said by late afternoon the suspension had affected 80 flights and about 4000 passengers .

At least two lightning strikes in the central city caused power blackouts, each lasting a few seconds.

High seas have also caused problems on roads around Wellington's eastern bays.

Inspector James Taare said high tide at about 2.40pm had caused waves to wash debris onto the road at Lowry Bay at suburban Eastbourne.

Traffic was reduced to one lane, while Hutt City Council workers cleared the debris.

Police also advised drivers to also take extreme care on the top of the Rimutaka Hill and Wainuiomata Hill, and along SH2 southbound between Petone and Wellington.

At the Ngauranga interchange north of Wellington, pieces of timber from a nearby yard were blown onto the road, interfering with traffic.

MetService duty forecaster Gerard Bellam said the southerly gales were averaging 75km/h, gusting to 100km/h, with little sign of conditions improving today.

On Beacon Hill, above Seatoun, wind speeds were averaging 110km/h in the teeth of the southerly.

The outlook for tomorrow was not much better, Mr Bellam said. While the winds would slowly ease, a pool of cold air would move north, dropping temperatures even further.

However, a ridge would start moving over the country by Friday, bringing the promise of a reasonably fine weekend.

Today's airport disruption comes after flights were cancelled on Monday night and Tuesday morning because of fog, affecting about 2000 passengers.

- NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB