Tornado-damaged Levin is set for more wild weather today - 24 hours on from the surging winds which left a trail of destruction on Friday morning.
A tornado ripped through the lower North Island town at 6.30am yesterday, downing powerlines and trees that blocked roads, lifting roofs off homes and keeping students at home as schools were forced to close.
The wild wintry blast caused damage further up the North Island; including tragically in Cambridge where a woman was fatally crushed by a tree.
In Auckland, wild winds of up to to 95km/h in Auckland forced transport authorities to close the Harbour Bridge briefly yesterday morning while buses were unable to use the route in the evening during peak hour traffic due to safety concerns over high winds.
And around the country there were also more than 4200 lightning strikes recorded across New Zealand from 12am Friday.
In Levin, residents and council contractors will continue a vast clean-up in some areas of the town today.
But any hopes of doing that under still and clear skies seem unlikely.
The Horowhenua District Council said today's focus was on cleaning up debris and offering welfare support to those left homeless with 30-50 homes damaged by yesterday's tornado in Levin, including about 10 of those that were uninhabitable.
Sixty-seven emergency 111 calls to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and 37 welfare calls to the Council were made yesterday as residents hunkered down amid the wild weather.
Levin man Tyson Sager said he was stunned to see his neighbour's station wagon fly backwards past his home as the tornado roared down his street yesterday.
A worker clearing debris after the tornado struck Levin. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Kinross St resident was woken early Friday morning by incredibly strong winds that kept ramping up.
"I woke up, jumped out of bed and looked out the window and I saw my mate's car flying backwards down the road.
"It was a red station wagon and it was just flying down the road and the wind was blowing it like nothing.
"So, I woke my missus up and said: 'My mate's car is flying down the road'."
The next thing trampolines were whistling past and his neighbour's cabin was shaking violently in the wind.
"This was bad. In my life, I've never ever encountered anything like this before. This was scary."
Another property on Strathmore Ave was badly damaged when furniture from the lounge was torn out through the conservatory windows by the tornado.
Other properties had sheds flattened, broken windows and downed fences as well as powerlines.
Today, MetService's forecast for Levin includes showers, possibly heavy with hail, that clear in the afternoon, paired with strong westerlies.
The council called on contractors with trucks and community members with trailers to help clean up the debris and other mess left behind by yesterday's tornado.
Mitre 10 Levin also stepped in to assist by giving out free tarpaulins to anyone whose home was damaged in the tornado.
Horowhenua mayor Bernie Wanden said there were around 10 homes left uninhabitable after the tornado.
"To have this mini tornado sweep across the town [on Friday] morning was quite out of the ordinary and has left quite a degree of destruction and mayhem."
Wanden said a lot of the mess had been cleaned up but there was more to do today.
A relief fund is being set up to support the affected community.
Meanwhile, a number of weather warnings have been issued for parts of Aotearoa.
MetService has issued a strong wind watch for Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty west of Te Puke, Taupō, and Taihape about and east of Waiouru from 3pm today until 3am tomorrow.
The forecaster warns westerly winds could become severe in exposed places.
A heavy swell warning has been issued for Wairarapa - Turakirae Head to Mataikona – from 6pm today until midnight Sunday with waves up to 5 metres.
Strong wind watches have also been issued for Tasman north of about Belgrove (from 11am), Dunedin and North Otago (from 6am) and Coastal Southland including Stewart Island, and Clutha (from 3am).
Yesterday, a cold snap whipped across the South Island bringing snow down to 500 metres in Southland, Clutha, Dunedin and Queenstown, and down to 800m in Canterbury.
The regional forecast for Southland today includes showers, possibly heavy in the morning with hail, and snow to 700 metres. Strong southwesterlies could gust to 100 km/h in exposed places before easing in the evening.
In central Otago, a partly cloudy day is on the cards with showers and snow above 700 metres.
In Auckland, MetService has forecasted cloud, isolated showers and strong southwesterlies with a high of 18C today.
By Sunday there should be a reprieve from the wintry blast which made its presence felt so violently.
In the North Island, showers might occur in western areas, but it will be mostly fine elsewhere.
Fine weather is also forecast for the South Island, aside from showers about Buller, Fiordland, Southland and Clutha. That weather pattern is set to continue into Tuesday.
