A blue gum crashes down in Hunua. Photo / Dave Lockwood
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Thousands of Aucklanders are still without power and motorists are being warned to take care in the windy conditions.
But the strong south to southwest flow that has bought cold, wet and windy weather to most of the country is set to subside by early evening, MetService said.
Watch: Snow storm hits the South
Vector indicated there were power outages in South Titirangi, Howick, Greenhith, East Tamaki, Clevedon and Birkenhead, after a short, sharp storm swept through the Auckland region earlier today.
Vector said crews had restored power to around 3,500 customers by this afternoon, with power back for a further 2,716 customers this afternoon, leaving approximately 3,700 customers still without power.
Vector said crews continued to work on the remaining faults, with extra crews in place to assist.
The wet, cold and squally southwesterly affected many in the North Island today, said MetService meteorologist Elke Louw.
A warning is in place for strong winds of up to 120 km/h in Auckland, which should subside by about 3pm.
"There are a number of warnings in place for severe gales, as well as a period of heavy snow over the Central Plateau today, but the good news is that conditions do start to improve as we head into Tuesday," she said.
Photos: Wild weather affects North and South
Image 1 of 10: Snow blankets a car in Brockville, Dunedin. Photo / Otago Daily Times
Conditions across the country would clear tonight but temperatures were expected to dip into the low single digits, she said.
"Tuesday and Wednesday look to be the fairest days this week, although there could still be one or two showers around as the disturbed southwesterly flow slowly weakens."
The Interislander ferry services were cancelled this morning because of the worsening conditions in the Cook Strait, with swells close to six metres.
The Aratere was to depart from Wellington to Picton as close to its scheduled departure time of 2.45pm as possible.
However the sailing will be freight only and passengers have been rebooked onto other sailings.
The Kaitaki was scheduled to depart at 9pm and a decision would be made about 4pm as to whether this service would also be cancelled, said senior communications advisor Michael Flyger.
"We expect the full service to resume overnight... Waves are just a bit high for passengers to go comfortably at the moment."
Earlier this morning the Desert Rd was closed because of snow, the New Zealand Transport Agency said.
It has since been re-opened and there were no other road closures in place, said NZTA spokesman Anthony Frith.
"We are warning people that while the road has been opened since about lunchtime there is snow, so we are asking that people take extra care.
"When a road is open the risk is greater because people are travelling on it... We are just urging people to drive to the conditions and take great care across the whole country."
Motorists were also being warned of strong wind gusts on the Auckland Harbour Bridge and on State Highway 2 on Rimutaka Hill Road.
Care was also needed on Canterbury roads, with the region being lashed by strong winds and sleety showers.
Strong winds on Banks Peninsula had already brought branches and debris onto State Highway 75 causing a hazard for motorists, said Lee Wright, journey manager for Canterbury/West Coast.
"Our contractors are on the highways working to ensure the roads are being kept clear of any debris and open to all traffic," he said.
Sleety showers have been reported on State Highway 7 through Lewis Pass.
Snow is forecast to fall on State Highway 73 later today, with Porter's Pass expected to be worst hit. The forecast is for snow down to 400 metres.
With the wild weather forecast to remain for much of the week, Ms Wright says motorists need to plan their journeys.
"They need to slow down, allow more time for their journey, drive to the conditions and be prepared for unexpected hazards."
It's understood a NZDF aircraft and multiple helicopters are involved.
