Wild Wellington weather returns: Gusts reach 124km/h

Winds of up to 140km/h could hit Wellington this evening. Photo / File

Pine trees are wobbling, whitecaps are spread across the harbour and umbrellas are flipping inside out - signs windy Wellington has officially made a comeback.

Metservice forecaster Sonja Farmer said gusts had reached 124km/h and could get stronger before settling down again.

"Warnings for Wellington were in place until 9pm tonight ... the day's not over yet."

Looking out of her Wellington office, Farmer said pine trees were wobbling and there were plenty of white caps out on the harbour.

"It's very gusty that's for sure."

Wellington's CBD suburb Kelburn was experiencing the strongest gust across New Zealand at the moment.

All ferries across the Wellington Harbour have been cancelled while bracing for towering waves and winds of up to 140km/h.

Metlink Wellington alerted at 1.23pm that due to adverse weather conditions all cross-harbour sailings have been cancelled this evening.

Shuttles would be departing from the city's Queens Wharf at 4.30pm, 5.30pm and 6.30pm, Metlink Wellington said.

Meanwhile, planned roadworks on Remutaka Hill Rd between Upper Hutt and Featherston had been canned as winds are expected to roar through the area.

NZTA were warning drivers who planned to travel over the hill to take extra care as winds over 140km/h were forecast from 4pm to midnight tonight.

UPDATE 11:20AM, TUE 19 JAN
Tonight's Remutaka Hill closure has been CANCELLED due to the severe winds & rain forecast. If you are planning to travel over the hill, take extra care as high winds over 140km/hr are forecasted from 4pm to midnight tonight. ^EHhttps://t.co/hSdWwc4QLn

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Wellington (@WakaKotahiWgtn) January 18, 2021

Blizzard-like conditions are expected on the Southern Alps and snow had already fallen in parts of the South this morning.

Cardrona Alpine Resort near Wanaka reported that 8cm of snow has fallen, and as of 11am it was still falling.

Snow has also settled at The Remarkables skifield near Queenstown.

🥶Cool and windy above the surface💨
This video shows the progression of the cool air at around 5.5km and the wind around 10km.
Helps explain the very strong northwest winds and the drop in temperature at the surface level for most places! ^Lewis pic.twitter.com/KenXvrP9Kb

— MetService (@MetService) January 19, 2021

Metservice has reported parts of Westland could see up to 250mm of rain accumulate while northwest wind gusts may approach 120-130km/h.

Earlier today, MetService meteorologist Peter Little said the winds in Wellington would pick up from late morning and peak in the late afternoon and early evening.

"We're quite hardy and we're used to strong winds in Wellington, but of course many of us last week enjoyed basking in the wonderful sunshine and the relatively calm conditions."

Wellingtonians that had invested in outdoor furniture or new trampolines over the Christmas period would have to tie them down or bring them in, he said.

"We've been enjoying all that outdoor furniture, but it is going to be very important to make sure it's well secured because it's going to be very, very windy."

"And also people putting out recycling, it's going to have to be very well secured to make sure it's protected from those strong northwesterly gusts."

He also advised motorists to take care on the roads in the windy conditions and watch out for fallen branches, especially those in high-sided vehicles or motorcycles.

While large swells were not expected through the Cook Strait he encouraged anyone with travel plans to check the ferry schedule and Wellington airport for updates.